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let-me-write · 5 years ago

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The Truth Untold

Find chapter 1 here

Chapter 2: Cirenworth hall

" Hey Min-Min, you're doing a good job !! Keep going !! "

Kit Herondale encouraged his little sister Mina who was chasing Church around their living room with determination. The grouchy cat was trying to evade her advances but to no avail as Mina managed to keep catching his tail.

He was beyond content observing his sister, who was, in fact, the only one who could get away with annoying Church. The immortal feline was affectionate of Mina but couldn't keep up with the toddler's curiosity at times, while nevertheless tolerating her. He would have gladly sat there, soaking in his sister's cute antics and the cat's predicament. But he had an important task for today, something he had been planning for months.

He must start now if he were to get it done before Jem and Tessa returned. He had been practising for this day with the help of his friend Amy, at her family's bakery.

Kit rounded up the ingredients and started mixing them on the kitchen counter. He was not confident because he had gotten it right only once in the past. Regardless, he kept going and placed the set batter into the oven for baking.

He was working on the frosting when Mina came into the kitchen exclaiming " Kittie!! There you are!! What are you doin'? " She hugged his legs tightly and looked up at him.

She had grown from an unassuming baby to this inquisitive toddler right in front of him. It all felt surreal to him even now. He had never imagined that he would have a loving family, much less a baby sister that adored him. Now, she was pulling his pants, awaiting his reply.

He bent down to pick her up and place her on the counter. He told her, " I'm baking a cake for Jem's birthday today "

She piped in " For Bapa? "

Kit nodded and continued " Yes, for Bapa. Do you wanna try the frosting, Min-Min? " He held out the spatula and she took some indulgently in her little fingers and tasted.

Her small face lit up with a satisfied grin as she declared " Gē Ge, you're the best !! ". Kit's heart skipped a beat, as it always did whenever she used the Chinese term for brother when addressing him.

He was pulled from his musing as the oven started beeping. He pulled out the now baked carrot cake.

Yes, Carrot cake, the only cake agreed upon by the senior members of Cirenworth hall.

Tessa hated chocolates - he had shuddered, thinking ' How Blasphemous !!! ', when he had learned about it - and, well, Jem didn't care much for desserts.

Kit moved on to slathering the cream cheese frosting he prepared on his cake and spread it uniformly as Amy had taught him.

Amy had become his only friend at Devon and her being a mundane had helped him reconnect with the contemporary pop culture of the mundane world. They had a good rapport and hung out at least once a week, whenever Kit felt like he had enough training for the week.

The frosting was done and now he was ready to pipe down ' Happy Birthday ' onto it but then he decided ' Why not make it a gift from Mina too? ' Thus, he addressed the wish to ' Bapa '.

By now, Mina was restless and wanted to help too. So, he guided her hand and together, they made a heart on the cake. She looked satisfied and squealed with delight " Bapa will love it !! "

Kit, on his way to secure the cake, assured her " Of course he will Min-Min !! Your hand's made it magical!! "

Now that the hard job was done, he set the table for the cake and anticipated the return of Jem and Tessa. They had gone to the farmer's market nearby, at least that's what Tessa had told him. She had assured him that she would keep Jem away from their home, providing ample time for Kit to prepare the cake.

Of course, Tessa was in on it with Kit, as they often were together in plans that involved surprising and/or anything to do with embarrassing Jem. They were a formidable team when it came to teasing the former silent brother, who was as clueless about modern society as he was oblivious to someone flirting with him.

In the last three years, Kit had succeeded to an extent in introducing him to all the mainstream movies. In fact, it had become a weekend ritual for the family; watching a new movie together, all curled up in their living room.

And those nights would all end with Mina fast asleep in Kit's arms while he explained all the contemporary references in the movie to the rest of the family. He was still not sure Jem understood them fully.

On such occasions, Kit would feel everything around him was a pipe dream that would disappear any moment now. There was no way he had a little sister and parental figures who cared for him as if he was their own.

Kit had wondered at such times...

Aren't they to me what a valuable shelter would be to a nomad and if that shelter was also a palace full of love and miracles? Isn't that not a mirage in the desert for a lost soul like him?

He would then look again at Mina's trusting smile and observe Jem and Tessa's unwavering affection for him. And he would assure himself that of course, this was all undoubtedly real and most importantly were what made him happy at present.

Yes, he was happy, there was no denial in that.

He was as happy now as he could be since his father's death and the events that had followed.

He was grateful for this family that he could call his, for once.

After all, he owed that to Jem and Tessa for their efforts to make him feel included.

Now, Cirenworth held the majority of his pleasant memories as this was the place where he had first met his Min-Min.

Kit had never been more sure of anything than his bond with his little sister. She had come into his life unexpectedly and had become an irreplaceable part with her unconditional fondness for him. He was not sure if he was worthy of it but it warmed his heart now, as he looked at his sister trying to tie a bow on Church's tail.

She was assuring the cat in a calm voice " Don't worry !! This is only for today as it is Bapa's birthday " Church seemed to understand her and gave in to her vanity scheme. She tied a bright red bow to the base of the cat's tail with utmost care.

As she was done, she announced enthusiastically " See, you're the prettiest cat in the whole of Devon now " The feline meowed in response, startling Kit, as he had never seen the perennially grumpy cat do such a normal thing since he had known him.

Kit came to his senses as his cellphone chimed. This was his cue to set up the cake and light the candles. He brought the cake out of the fridge and onto the table and lit the candle.

Mina was hovering near the table when he bent down to pick her up in his arms. He could hear voices now outside the door.

The lights were off in the living room and the narrow rays of the setting sun hit the room as the door opened.

As soon as Jem opened the door, Mina started singing " Happy Birthday Bapa ..." in her lovely voice.

Kit too exclaimed " Happy 154th Jem !! " while switching on the lights.

Jem looked awestruck on witnessing Kit and Mina in front of the cake. He smiled when his gaze fell on Church, seated next to the cake with his prominent bow on display.

Tessa came to stand next to him with a proud grin on her face.

Mina gestured to be let down and ran to hug her father. Jem lowered himself and received her kisses and beamed when she wished him " A very happy birthday Bapa !! "

He picked her up while replying " Thank you my little melon " and moved towards the table.

Kit gestured at the carrot cake on the table and said " Hope you like the cake !! Happy Birthday Old Man !! "

Jem ignored the jibe and looked pleasantly surprised at Kit's creation and enveloped him into a hug along with Mina in his arms. " You never cease to amaze me Christopher " he said as he let Kit go with an adoring pat on his head. Kit couldn't help but feel warm towards the former silent brother.

For someone who had a minimal touch with human emotions for more than a century, Jem was an expert in evoking the right ones in others.

Tessa, who had been clicking a picture of the family embrace on her phone, complained of being left out. She came towards Kit and hugged him lovingly. He had never been hugged in such a way before he had met Tessa, at least not any that he had remembered.

It has always been a surprise for him, how warm and protective the gesture was... he had thought this is what a mother's hug must feel like.

Tessa let go of him and whispered " You did a good job my boy !! " and ruffled his hair affectionately... well she tried to...she could reach only the curls on his forehead. He had grown a lot since he had come here and had finally outgrown Jem last summer.

He replied with mock disappointment, " So, I have failed my Herondale ancestors again !! "

" Not a great job but merely a good job... I hope you change your mind once you taste the cake, for my poor heart's sake "

Tessa shook her head while chuckling and handed the knife on the table to Jem " Here you go love, Let's honour our boy's hardwork with no further delay "

Jem proceeded to blow out the candle on the cake but not before looking at the portrait of his parabatai on the wall.

As he cut the cake, Mina belted out the Happy Birthday song perfectly as Kit had taught her, leading to him joining in too.

Jem picked a small piece of the cake and fed it to his daughter, who gobbled it with satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Kit cut another piece from the cake and tried to feed it awkwardly to Jem who looked at him with a content expression. His eyes widened as he ate the cake. He then proclaimed, " I can't believe that I've been blessed today with such a delectable cake. Here Tessa, have some " He fed some to Tessa who looked admiringly at Kit as she chewed on the carrot cake.

Kit was sure they weren't kidding - as one would know if they knew these two - but he was apprehensive as he tried a piece himself. He gasped out loud at the surprising burst of good flavour in his mouth.

Had he found his calling finally ? All this time training to be a shadowhunter and he could have been a baker !!

Tessa looked at him fondly and turned to Jem and said " Of course, it is tasty. Our Kit does everything with no shortage of love and sincerity. Why would this be different? "

She added, " Why don't we take this celebration outside ? The table's already laid out with the food we have bought "

Kit's family then proceeded towards their greenhouse, inside which laid an ornate wooden table, a reminiscent of the era Tessa and Jem had belonged to. He had learnt that this table used to belong to the Herondales when Tessa had been one herself. Will and Tessa would have dined with their children in this table more than a century ago.

Numerous candles adorned the table, burning brightly and casting the reflections of the trees surrounding the table upon the surrounding walls. Through the roof, Kit noticed that the moon was hiding behind the clouds and that the sky had turned darker.

Mina was chattering excitedly to her Bapa about how she had helped Kit with the cake decoration and how her Gē Ge had encouraged her to decorate Church too.

Kit perked up at that ' Now that was TMI; his involvement in this endeavour '. Jem was a calm person, not easy to upset but Kit suspected even he might not be forgiving of any unfair treatment of his precious cat.

So, Kit tried to divert the topic by pointing at the display on the table " Look at the table Min-Min !! Bapa and Mama have brought your favorite orange chicken. Let's split up the contents shall we? "

There were authentic Chinese foods as well as take-outs on the table. They knew Kit used to enjoy such food back in L.A. and have always bought it for him, whenever possible.

Of course, Tessa would never hesitate to open a portal to L.A., to allow him to re-experience the city he grew up in. The only problem was that Kit didn't want to return there himself, too many memories attached to the place, some more painful than the others.

Now, the sole connection he had with the city was the take-out Jem and Tessa bought for him from time to time. Mina had also taken to his favorite food, choosing to eat them along with him.

They took their places on the table, with Mina next to him. She preferred to be fed by Kit, as her little fingers have not been accustomed to chopsticks yet.

Her parents sat across from them with copious amounts of Xiaolongbao - soup dumplings from Jem's birth place, Shanghai - in front of them.

Kit opened up a box of orange chicken and fed the first piece to Mina. She gobbled it up readily.

Since he had come here, he has come to learn that both Jem and Tessa placed his needs before all else. He had thought then that such priority would not exist once their child was born. He had been wrong. They were never discriminative in their affection and care for him. It was evident from the way they seemed to understand that he was hurt in the past and were careful about bringing up the Blackthorns.

Kit had never expected to experience this kind of comfort and feeling of belongingness. In fact, when he moved in with the Carstairs, he was convinced that he would not be allowed to stay if he couldn't reflect Will Herondale in his actions or behaviors. But of course, he had been wrong in that case too.

Now, he concentrated on finishing up the delicious chicken along with his sister and moved on to the dumplings.

The dinner was a silent affair, after which they all huddled together for their night time ritual of listening to Jem play his violin.

Kit had never before been a big fan of classical music or even literature for that matter; both had changed since he had started residing here. He found Jem's music not only beautiful but oddly comforting in the way it brought vivid and pleasant images to his mind.

There was a sense of safety that came over Kit now as he listened with his eyes closed. Mina's warm little fingers were hanging on to his own as she sat on her mother's lap beside him.

They were all sitting under the newly bloomed autumn cherry tree in a corner of their green house. Jem was standing under the tree while playing his violin. This was a fairly familiar site for the residents except that the pink petals falling around him made Jem look like a Shoujo anime protagonist. He definitely looked the part, with his unusual hair: a silver streak in an otherwise black head.

Kit immediately turned to whisper the same to Tessa, who proceeded to giggle not so discreetly. Of course, she understood anime references now, he had spent his time educating both Tessa and Jem on the finer aspects of contemporary media. He had succeeded spectacularly with Tessa - as she had with making him enjoy reading - to the point of her often engaging in passionate discussions with him.

He added to Tessa " What do you think Lily would call him if she witnessed this ? " By then, Jem had finished his piece and was looking at them curiously.

" Definitely Jemmy Blossom " he quipped. She nodded with a conspiratorial grin " Absolutely and she would add ' which I would love to blend in my Sakura tea ' "

Jem sighed hearing that and Kit observed that he had a slight blush in his cheeks. Both Kit and Tessa have been getting better in teasing the shy, 19th century man, with the help of few pointers from Lily Chen herself, the loyal Brother Zachariah enthusiast.

Jem ignored the comment and asked Tessa if she had any requests. She nodded and asked " Will you play ours, Jem ? " He smiled before starting to play again.

A gorgeous melody started, describing a place filled with joy and contentment and interspersed with equal parts melancholy and longing. It portrayed a love story among three souls that were intertwined forever and a bond that transcended time.

Kit had heard this piece numerous times before and knew of its significance. The impact it had on him now was different though. It evoked memories in him, the very ones he tried hard to suppress every day and a longing for a person dearest to him, whom he doubted he would ever meet again.

He felt particularly emotional today, his longing for his former companion from the Los Angeles Institute intensifying, as if someone had tugged the thread that bound him to Ty.

That seemed absurd...

There was nothing between them now nor was it then, not at least from Ty's side.

He was still feeling miserable with his thoughts when Jem finished. So, he decided to stay out for sometime while the others went inside the house.

Mina mumbled " Good night " to him before laying back her head sleepily on her mother's shoulder. Tessa just smiled at him understandingly while Jem gave him a hug before they left for inside.

Kit ventured into the dark, walking with a purpose, towards the garden surrounding their house. It was as familiar to him as the back of his hand. He had spent hours training in these grounds with Jem. He even knew every rock in the foot path; what with him falling on them several times during running or fighting.

He was heading now towards the wooden swing in the east corner of the property. Jem had told him that the Carstairs who lived here in the past had installed it for their children. It was a beautiful bench swing that faced the neighbouring fields.

Kit loved spending his time here, typically at nights when he could star gaze in the clear, rural sky. No one would disturb him here and it had truly become his own spot. He came here whenever he felt overwhelmed and to ruminate on his thoughts.

Tonight, he was thinking about Ty, as usual, missing him.

He felt guilty... he didn't have any right to miss Ty considering he was the one who had left him.

He looked up at the stars- ' Stars ' was one of Ty's comfort words- and smiled. Wonder if he had any new words now?

Kit had learned to control his thoughts regarding Ty to a great extent in his time here - not without difficulty - restricting them to only the times he spent here on this bench.

This was broken when he had met Julian and Emma, when they had visited here during their travel year. It was difficult for Kit to look at Julian without finding a resemblance to Ty.

Emma had hugged him as soon as she saw him and sought assurance of his well being. They both were warm and friendly during their stay.

Thankfully, they hadn't prod him much about his reason for leaving. Maybe, they had just attributed it to the safety concerns over his faerie heritage.

They didn't mention much about Ty either, except that he was at the Scholomance and often sent them letters and postcards.

Well, except when Emma had encountered him alone in the hallway once and said " You know... Ty would love to hear from you " before she was interrupted by Julian calling her.

He hadn't been able to reply " I am not so sure of that ".

Then, there was that time Livvy had come here and he had learnt about the threat to Ty and had given up his mother's heron pendant for his protection.

He wished that he could learn more about Ty's life but he wasn't sure if he would like to hear about it over being present for it. The thought unnerved him.

In his early days at Cirenworth, he was heartbroken and had dreaded his memories of Ty. Now, he still felt a dull pain in his chest when thinking of him but this was mostly due to a sense of yearning rather than regret and pain.

Gradually, his longing for Ty's companionship came to dominate over his guilt and remorse but that didn't mean he didn't feel them anymore. It was just that as time went, he had learnt to pay attention to the good memories over the painful ones, albeit his frequent lapses.

Jem and Tessa's anecdotes about their past had helped a little. Their recollections were always tinted with a wistful but pleasant lens, even their painful memories.

He wanted to reassess his own memories... But even thinking about disentangling his past, left him feeling as if he was running a marathon and hanging onto a cliff's edge at the same time.

He took a deep breath and tried to locate the Orion's belt in the sky to calm himself.

As he focused his eyes upwards, a sudden bright source approached him from his left. He gasped out loud before realizing that it was a fire message.

' Could it be Jace? '

He liked to keep up with Kit as often as he could.

He waited for the blazing message to land on his hand.

Once it settled, he opened up the folded white paper carefully. He saw that it was addressed to him but not to Kit, to Christopher.

The only person that addressed him that way was Jace.

He sighed while muttering " Of course, who else would send me a message? "

But then he noticed that the handwriting was off.

He examined closely at the " Dear Christopher " and realized with a jolt that this was a familiar handwriting, one that he had witnessed in meticulously taken notes : a neatly written, cursive array of words with peculiarly curved 'r's that he could have recognized anywhere.

A distinct one, that belonged to none other than the boy he had spent the most time with at the Los Angeles Institute.... this was a message from Tiberius Blackthorn.

#the truth untold #the dark artifices #the wicked powers #kit herondale #Ty Blackthorn #Ty x kit #kit x ty #chapter 2 #tuservaar

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peterstanslizzie · 4 years ago

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Reacting To: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 2 Episode 5)

Episode Title: Fun Gus Part 1

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to handle spoilers.

1. Just like last episode, this particular one begins with a flashback and this time, it’s Kipo’s parents, Song and Lio Oak whom are climbing up a building with tree roots along its walls. The reach the top and they’re amazed by the view of Las Vistas and the different kinds of mutes living there. Song looks almost exactly like Kipo; Only less...pink.

2. Song has figured out a way to reverse the effects of the mutation in the mutes. And we find out that Hugo aka Scarlemagne was one of the mutes she’s basing her research on! So that explains the supposed backstory between Lio and Scarlemagne we’ve detected in previous episodes.

3. Also, the reason why they’re there in the surface world is to find out more information about the mutes and how to turn them back to normal. However, both Song and Lio don’t agree with their team’s plans and they decide to hide Song’s research findings from them, especially after discovering that Hugo is able to say her name. Now I’m really curious as to why Hugo ended up becoming so anti-human. I guess it’s due to him seeing how humans have been treating animals over the years or something.

4. I just find their interactions to be absolutely precious. They’re also planning to stay on the surface for as long as they can.

5. We’re now back to the present and we see Super Dave carrying his friends over a couple of blocks without molting (I never knew this word till now). They notice that Dave has been able to prolong the very form he’s in, far longer than before.

6. Kipo tells the group that they’re almost at her parents old burrow and she also can’t wait to possibly find out more things about her mom. I’m beginning to wonder if she really died from burrow pox or not? Anyways, Kipo pulls out the map given to her by Cappuccino and it looks like they need to pass through one last checkpoint, a cheese waterfall.

7. They are suddenly interrupted by the water mute Mulholland (from last season), who came through a fire hydrant lol. He’s obviously not welcomed by them, especially after what he did to them before.

8. At Scarlemagne’s Court, we see the representatives from the 4 pro-Scarlemagne mute groups including the Mod Frogs, Scooter Skunks, Humming Bomber and Newton Wolves entering his residence and being in awe of the place. He wants them to “sing” to him where they think the Mega Monkey might be. Kwat, the Mod Frog sings to him, revealing that it’s in Cactus Town. Because of that, she gets first dibs on a luxury home in the work-in-progress city of Aurum.

9. To my surprise, Scarlemagne reveals that he will be going on the hunt for the Mega Monkey. I gotta say; I do like a pro-active super-villain. We shift things over to the ever-mysterious cloaked individuals who are rushing over to find the Mega Monkey by following an ant trail (because monkeys eats ants?) before Scarlemagne can. But we do find out one of their names: Greta.

10. They spot Scarlemagne and his crew flying through the sky and carrying the mind-control collar for the monkey. So, they need to hurry. I’m starting to think that they’re just humans; I mean look at those eyes.

11. Back to Mulholland; He reveals to them that he is now a travelling nomad or nomads and that Kipo is going to find what she’s looking for. He then leaves. That was certainly random. Anyways, they now seem to be near that cheese waterfall place because they finally arrive at the entrance of her parents burrow and there’s cheese everywhere. Correction. FUNGUS everywhere...eww and it moves too. Despite finding the burrow, they still need to find her parents’ apartment.

12. Next, we see the three cloaked individuals riding on a giant dragonfly and tailing behind Scarlemagne and the Nobles. Can the show just tell us who these people are? I’m kinda tired of referring to them as the “cloaked individuals” lol. All of a sudden, a high-pitched sound appears out of nowhere, causing everyone to fall from the sky. It turns out to be the doing of the Umlaut snakes. Looks like these guys are going to take on Scarlemagne but they’re probably not going to beat him I think.

13. Kipo discovers that her parents’ old burrow used to be inhabited by a group of scientists, including her parents of course. They then realize that the apartments are arranged in alphabetical order and they make their way over to the O side to find the Oak’s apartment. Oh and Dave is now in his elderly form after being scared by the fungus creature or whatever. And he is the only one who’s noticing that the orange fungus is moving.

11:59

14. Because humans aren’t as sensitive to sound compared to mutes, Scarlemagne orders his human Nobles to destroy the snakes’ equipment. Scarlemagne orders his followers to attack and the scene cuts off. I’m actually worried about the snakes; I hope they are gonna be alright.

15. The gang is inside the apartment and they’re going through some of their things like their bed, kitchenware and Kipo’s old baby clothes to which she is keeping one of them. Kipo then notices drawings of constellations on their ceiling and points out that the Leo constellation has an extra star, which is actually just a button that opens up a secret panel.

16. The panel reveals a book with the title, “Project Kipo”. She grabs it and starts browsing through it. To sum up what she read, it’s basically about combining Kipo’s DNA with the DNA of apex predators like the jaguar. Other apex predators include the falcon, monkey and Komodo dragon. So this explains in scientific detail why Kipo is their “hybrid-baby”. As a Biochemistry graduate, I find the incorporation of recombinant DNA technology in the story-lines of cartoons to be exciting.

17. Again, I like how Kipo isn’t upset at her parents in any capacity for pretty much making her their science experiment. I’d probably be angry but then again, I’m not Kipo lol. Meanwhile, Dave is freaking out because he saw a face on the wall and calls out for Benson to come over. But yet again, nothing happens when anybody but Dave (and Mandu) shows up to check it out.

18. As Kipo goes further into her reading, we get more flashbacks of Song and Lio in that same apartment. Pretty much this book is also Song’s journal/diary it seems. Song comes home to reveal that she’s pregnant with Kipo and Lio is overwhelmed with joy. Aww, this is sooo adorable. I’m getting chills. They are such goals.

19. After reading the part about the pregnancy, Kipo obviously gets very emotional, in a good way. And she, Wolf and Benson get into a group hug. The love fest is short-lived, however, because Dave is still freaking out about the “ghosts”. Benson gets annoyed and shouts at him and tells him to molt into someone more fun. This hurts Dave’s feelings and he plus Mandu walk away. But suddenly, the fungus mute/creature shows up on the wall again with a face this time and it also has the voice of a toddler. It then grabs hold of both of them and drags them through the wall. That was way spooky.

20. Whilst the snakes are fighting off Scarlemagne’s minions, the cloaked individuals are using this opportunity to grab the giant collar and take it away from Scarlemagne’s reach. The leader of the cloaked group heads inside the den where the Mega Monkey is sleeping. Now I’m thinking that these individuals are human beings because she said “for the future of humanity”. After thinking through it some more, I predict that they were Lio and Song’s old scientist colleagues.

21. Why didn’t Kipo, Wolf or Benson hear what was going on outside the apartment?; They need to get their ears checked. Kipo is still focused on the book and she reads that her mom was making kimchi and peanut butter. As she’s opening the jar, she accidentally breaks the entire jar without any effort. She seems to have super-strength as a side effect and she grew fur on her arm earlier, revealing to all of us that she’s a Mega Jaguar too. Therefore, I’m pretty sure her mom’s not dead. But if that’s the case, why d id Lio lie to Kipo for all her life about her mom dying from an illness?

22. After getting all excited by this discovery, the fungus mute steals the journal (which should be Kipo’s anchor) from her. And the episode ends here.

23. I absolutely loved this episode. I liked being able to see the past interactions between Lio and Song through Kipo reading Song’s journal. Stay tuned tomorrow for when I will be posting my review of episode 6. Thanks for reading everyone! Bye!

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efrmellifer · 4 years ago

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FFxivWrite ‘20, Twenty-Five

Prompt: Wish, ~20 years after the present day in-game, 905 words

As Betula sat on the rock overlooking U’Ghamaro, face turned upwards to the stars, she couldn’t help but attempt to put herself in her mother’s shoes.

This journey had been enlightening in so many ways— that is, Betula had known that she was the daughter of the Warrior of Light, but she’d never known just how much Etien had done.

Maybe she should have been able to guess, with all the stories Etien had to tell, tales of fierce battles and bitter victories. And the way she could describe locales that some people only dreamed of— especially in Ishgard.

Not to mention the wide variety of friends she was always referencing. There were Moogles and dragons, steppe nomads, Domans from all walks, even some fae-folk!

Some of them, Betula had been fortunate enough to meet, but there were some she would never be able to (she had pretended not to see Etien wiping her eyes as she talked about residents of some place called “the First”).

And some still, ones Betula knew well, had also been major players in history. Estinien, whose hair she braided flowers into; Vidofnir, who had shaded Betula during many a nap in the Dravanian Forelands; all the Scions, referred to only as “Mummy and Da’s friends” when the children were little; all had turned the tides of fate’s course, and still found the time to ruffle Betula’s hair or chuck Landric on the chin.

She wondered how Landric felt about all this. They had never really talked about it, outside of a little bit of amazement or asking Etien for stories.

Betula wondered a lot. She’d always been curious, apparently, but it seemed like ever since she’d set off on this trip to devote herself to pugilist training and then follow the trail of the Warrior of Light— and that was exactly how she explained herself, too— she’d spent a lot of time wondering.

But that was the point of the journey. To find answers to at least some of the things she wondered about.

Betula could tell, even in the exciting or cheery snippets that Etien had recounted, that a lot of pain lay between the strings of the story, shaken loose in the strumming of her mother’s lyre. So she didn’t want to draw all that out. She could ask other people who had seen it all. At least, she could ask the ones that could yet be reached.

It never failed to amuse her, though, when she started asking questions and people responded with their own question of what it all meant to her.

She managed to suppress the laughter, of course, but it tickled Betula that she was apparently so unrecognizable. Wymond in Ul’dah had picked up on it right away, telling her that she was the spitting image of her mother, but somehow the inky waves she’d inherited from her father threw everyone far enough off the trail that they didn’t look into her green eyes and see the hero they’d just been praising looking back.

Still, it did get her a nice, objective view of her mother in the past. If she ran around saying “I’m the daughter of the Warrior of Light and Ishgard’s Lord Commander!” she wouldn’t learn anything.

But being the stranger Betula Deborel blowing through, not Betula de Borel (which would have been much more recognizable to anyone familiar with Ishgard or the Alliance), she got to hear comments like “Oh, Etien Mellifer was an incredible woman! Strong of will, strong of arm, and strong of emotions. She could summon thunderstorms in her moods, it seemed” or “The Warrior of Light was so quiet, simply nodding along and pressing a fist to her palm in determination. I only ever heard her voice in a song on the battlefield.”

Betula supposed the haircut helped people completely divorce her from her lineage. A lot of Ishgardians had black hair, and the length hers was cut to negated most of the curl, leaving just a hint of a flip where the waves used to begin.

She missed her hair sometimes, when she needed something to fiddle with.

She looked back up to the sky, watching something streak across the vast dark expanse. A shooting star, she guessed, though she was certainly no student of the heavens.

That had been one of her favorite stories, back when she was a kit, and she didn’t know anything of the struggles of Hydaelyn, and of Hydaelyn’s chosen. Betula could hardly imagine it, opening her eyes to a shower of stars, a whisper in her mind suddenly filling her with power.

Now, though, she had heard of grit teeth and bruised ribs and broken hearts. Of how sometimes “chosen” meant “sacrifice.” Of the responsibilities that came with untold abilities.

And she could only think, a shooting star granted you one wish. Even with a downpour of them, no one would wish for what Eorzea and her hero had seen.

But a life like this, traveling and hearing the tales of earth-shaking events from those who had lived them? That might make a good thing to spend a wish on.

But she already had that.

So when she made her wish, finally, she just wished for her mother— and her father, and all their friends, all the family that had shaped Betula into the little wanderer she was now— to be happy, as often as they could be.

#FFXIVWrite 2020 #FFxivWrite #fic #poor Betula bearing some of her mom's pain

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thesaltyoceanwaves · 6 years ago

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Account of Resistance Fighter Saltybug - Hive Mind Bad Ending Metafic

A/N: Please be aware that this is a fictionalized account of my RP experiences during Hive Mind. If it sounds too harsh or serious... well, that’s just my character. It’s not real, and I don’t mean to offend anyone. I know some people got upset or didn’t care for the content during the whole thing, but again, I mean no harm. It’s just a bit of fun.

One of the bunker doors swings open. The contents inside are empty. All of the resistance’s rooms seem sparse, you realize. But this one has been occupied up until not too long ago.

Still curious, you step inside.

There’s a book sitting on a desk. The cover is a plain brown. You skim through the pages and see someone’s handwriting.

It appears to be a diary.

Do you wish to continue reading?

March 26

Something... strange is happening around here.

All sorts of people have been contacting @nobodyfamousposts about joining the Hive. What was once a story has now become reality. And all sorts of people have been inducted into this cult.

Yeah, I don’t like this.

I don’t think I have much to worry about though. It’s not as if people are going to be directly targeting me. If I say nothing, I’d probably be nothing more than a ghost. Wouldn’t even register as a blip on the Hive’s radar.

...

...Maybe I should look for a bunker or something, just in case. Somewhere extreme and with uninviting weather.

March 27

I’ve managed to find some locations with pretty extreme weather conditions. Places like [redacted]. I also considered somewhere up in [redacted] but I hate the cold. Winter just ended and I just started pulling out my spring/summer clothes! I don’t want to have to take it all out again! Ugh, this is so inconvenient, but whatever. I’m still not a target and I could probably get away safely.

Still, I have a good variety of locations that the Hive will never touch. I hope. At the very least, it’d be a pain for them to reach. I don’t mind trekking through treacherous locations - I like the challenge!

It also seems some people are resisting the Hive.

Hm...

March 28

I had a change of heart.

At first, I was simply going to sit back and comment on the events unfolding around me, all from the safety of [redacted].

But upon hearing that @gale-of-the-nomads (or as I prefer to call him, Cult Penguin), cornered and captured Nemo, I decided then and there that I could no longer run away. Even when they were left alone, I decided to stand by my decision and declared boldly that the Resistance would win. My declaration did not go unnoticed by fellow resistance member @livanarose.

Something got me thinking though that the key to winning has to do with finding Adrien and subjecting him to bird feathers. We can’t just overwhelm the entire Hive with them, I guess, but can you really trust the word of a cult member?

It seems that the Hive lacks any sense of humor. Imagine living such a humorless, unimaginative life with all your privacy constantly invaded, 24/7.

Thank you, next!

March 29

@lenoreofraven has gone too far. Not only has their cult sullied the good name of pastries, but now puppies too!

INCONCEIVABLE!

Such a crime, will not go unpunished! Thankfully, my bold declaration and love for MCU movies seems to have gained me another ally in @apex-primus. I’m glad to have another comrade in arms!

Around day’s end, I ended up making a playlist to rally the troops. There is so much Hive propaganda, that it seems the voice of the Resistance is lost. Mostly, we respond to their lies. So I figured, it’s time to change that. And what’s a better way to get people pumped than listening to a lot of music that mostly makes you feel awesome or you should go pump iron at the gym? Some commentary on the tracks I included:

--> The other day, @jacquesthepigeon proved how effective trolling the Hive can be. What’s a better way to show appreciation than include the Jonas Brothers?

--> Along an anonymous “Owl”, Cult Penguin and Raven have formed a bird squad. "Swan Song” is my (my because I refuse to speak for the Resistance as a whole. We are individuals) response to that. A swan song usually refers to someone’s last performance before retirement. See the irony?

--> “Libera Me from Hell” - opera = the Hive, rap = the Resistance. Also, “Row, row fight the power!” is such an amazing thing to chant.

--> Soundtrack music from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Personally speaking, the movie has so many wonderful memories from what I first saw it. But one of the quotes I remember the best is: “The price of freedom is high. Always has been. It’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”

I don’t think everything on here represents everyone in the Resistance, so I’m open to people sending in suggestions. To have different genres, different bands and artists, different time periods on there would be great.

For now, though, it’s a start.

After that, I once again attempted to debunk more Hive propaganda. Raven has the audacity to speak of “peace”.

Um, newsflash? Brainwashing isn’t peace.

And if anyone actually thinks that the Hive will just stop after taking Marinette, they’re incredibly naive. Anyone that doesn’t follow the order of the Hive is seen as weird or a threat. Anyone who is scared is just to told that there’s nothing to be afraid of. Even if it was for a silly reason, I would never tell anyone how and when to feel afraid. They feel that way for a reason. They’re entitled to that. How they deal with that is what’s important.

And sure, we may be more violent than them, but there’s a reason for that.

Despite all this, livana suggested that we go along with a peace treaty, at least for now. I still think the situation is shady, and she agrees. Apex isn’t convinced either, but I suppose we’ll just play nice for now. We’re sitting tight for news on Monday, but of course, keeping our guards up.

March 30

Already, I’ve gotten some requests for the playlist! I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re all from the same person, but requests are still requests! And Apex’s comment really struck a chord with me. Damn, I’m such an emotional dork when it comes to that movie. Nobody also really seemed to like it too!

I’m still not so secretly taking joy in watching people rip into the Hive. Trying to induct more people into your cult? Ha! Have a face full of pillow instead!

March 31

The Hive has captured and brainwashed Marinette.

Fuck.

...

This is why we can never have peace with the Hive. Allow them whatever they want, and they will consume you whole. I have no doubts that their greed will grow and they will pursue everyone left to add to their little cult.

And the day seemed so promising when I saw another brave soul stepped up to the plate to tackle Hive propaganda. Thank you, @nerd-in-the-basement. Hopefully, you’re safe.

Our best option for now is to retreat to the backup bunkers.

Right now, the only solace I have is that somewhere out there, in the great wide universe, there is a timeline in which we have overcome the Hive. In another world, they are no longer a threat to humanity and individuality.

I can’t give up on making this timeline better though. There has to be a solution to overthrowing the Hive. We just need time to figure out what it is. Finding Adrien is key. Also, bird feathers. Lots of bird feathers.

For now, we play defense.

For now, we live in shadow.

...

To the Hive:

You might have Marinette, but you will never destroy our hope.

So continue to spread your lies. Continue to try and force people into your cult. Eventually, you will regret everything you’ve done.

I dare you to try and find me.

Because if you thought I was violent or scary before, you won’t like me now.

I’ll show you no mercy.

To fellow Resistance fighters that may stumble upon this:

I leave this account here for your sake. All the important information is blotted out, but I think you’ll know where to go. What to do.

It’s okay to be upset.

But do not despair.

There is still hope.

The Hive will not overtake us. They will not have our freedom, our individuality, our lives. Because they only know what it means to exist, not live. And we’ll make sure they know that.

If you wish to seek me out, I will be waiting for you in one of our locations. We can even train together to prepare for the inevitable.

Viva la Resistance! May it guide your path!

...

That was the latest entry. It seems you’ve reached the end of the diary.

You’re left pondering a question:

Should you seek out xxxsaltybugxxx?

#miraculous ladybug #ml au #ml creepy #hive #hive mind #hive mind au #fight the hive #viva la resistance!#metafic #hive mind bad end

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spring-emerald · 5 years ago

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Haikyuu!! Liberos Idol!AU

Disclaimer: As usual, this is patterned more after K-pop, than J-pop.

Overview of the Group:

Another relatively chill group with reserved members who are so precious and must be protected at all costs.

While the group’s average height fall on the short side of the spectrum, they’re quite monstrous when it comes to stage presence that you don’t feel that they’re small, but instead are really, really big. Their fans (and even non-fans) have recognized their amazing stage presence when performing live.

This group generally gives off fun, playful, youthful vibes, and their MV’s are usually colorful and energetic, with 90s inspired music and aesthetic.

They are also insanely synchronized and even though each members have a specific designation, they’re all main dancer materials.

They had a reality show where they were taken to a secluded island and had to survive a full week there, winning challenges to get some supplies and eventually their ticket going home. This showcased their relationship as a group and their personalities as well and they definitely figured out who would survive being stranded on an island (hint: Noya would take living as a nomad on a stride and Yamagata would survive because he’s really practical.)

The Members

Yaku Morisuke – Yaku is the oldest member and the leader of the group and he serves as the main vocalist and overall mother hen. He’d also been training the longest, since he’d been in the agency for five years before he’d debuted, so he’s really thirsty for making his dreams come true. He used to do and post cover songs while playing the piano when he was a trainee. He’s good friends with other idols from other groups and sometimes posts about hanging out with them.

Seventeen’s Woozi is my inspiration for idol! Yaku.

Komi Haruki – Komi is one of the lead dancers of the group, he’s one of their variety representative because he’s really playful and outgoing, especially if you compare him to his more reserved juniors (with the exception of Noya). He’s the group’s mood maker and quite a savage snarker, but he’s a really good dancer and takes care of their acrobatic choreography. Has a vast knowledge of girl group songs and doesn’t hesitate to show people how good he is dancing them.

The best reference I have for idol! Komi is NCT’s Yuta.

Yamagata Hayato – Hayato is the youngest of the ‘hyung’ line and is in charge of rap. He’s mostly quiet and the father-figure, parallel to Yaku’s mother-figure, and likes to spoil his juniors, especially the ‘maknae’ line. Despite being one of the oldest, he’s actually new to the idol scene as he’s only been training for one and a half year before his debut with the group, but he’s hardworking and willing to learn from his impressive juniors.

My reference for idol! Hayato is Astro’s JinJin

Watari Shinji – Shinji serves as a lead vocal and dancer of the group. His first shot to stardom is when he joined a national star hunt when he was in middle school and did well during the contest, having reached the semi-finals, but failed to secure a spot as one of the grand finalists, losing from number of votes because people thought he was too young and should focus on his studies first. Nevertheless, he was offered a trainee contract by the agency, and had been training with them since then before his debut with the group.

Verivery’s Gyehyeon is my idol reference for Shinji.

Nishinoya Yuu – Noya is the group’s main dancer, rapper and face of the group as his claim to fame is being the representative of his agency for the second season of a reality show that aimed to produce a nation’s boy group, and having landed a spot as one of the final members of the group, hence making this his second debut with an official group. He has b-boy roots and actually skilled in parkour and skateboarding, the audience and fans love his wild child antics and his ridiculous but lowkey motivational one-liners that he used to wear as shirts he made popular during the show.

NCT’s Mark is my vision for idol! Noya.

Sakunami Kousuke – Kousuke is one half of the ‘maknae’ line and is a lead vocalist of the group. He’s also a skilled multi-instrumentalist who knows how to play piano, guitar, and even traditional musical instruments, had been training at it since he was a child seeing as his mother is part of a traditional music group and is actually famous for it. But he always wanted to become an idol and works very hard to prove and continuously improve himself. He sometimes compose songs for the group and it is always met with great enthusiasm and encouragement, especially from Yaku.

My reference for idol! Kousuke is Astro’s Sanha.

Shibayama Yuuki – The other half of the maknae line and official maknae of the group, is an outstanding all-rounder despite his young age, serving as lead dancer, sub-vocals, and sub-rapper and has earned the spot of the visual as he’s often focused on by the camera whenever they finish performing for live shows –the ending fairy of the group, so to speak. Has vast knowledge of different boy and girl group songs and dances and often gets pulled by Noya for impromptu dance-off along with Komi.

The best idol reference I have for idol! Yuuki is Verivery’s Kangmin.

Concepts/Songs:

The song that I think best represents the vibe and concept I see this group is going for is Verivery’s From Now

There’s also Verivery’s Ring Ring Ring, Seventeen’s Adore U and Mansae, NCT Dream’s We Go Up, Astro’s Baby.

Additional songs would be NCT 127’s Touch, Got7’s Lullaby, NCT Dream’s Boom

I seriously think they can pull off EXO’s Growl and NCT 127’s Cherry Bomb, for some reason, you know, if they decide to experiment with concepts. Or even if they don’t, I think they would kill it.

That’s it, I guess?

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #idol au #yaku morisuke #nishinoya yuu #haikyuu libero #komi haruki #yamagata hayato #watari shinji #sakunami kousuke #shibayama yuuki

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fate-magical-girls · 6 years ago

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Swaying with Every Step: an Analysis of the Chinese Hair Ornament Buyao

Translation of original post here

Historically, buyao (步摇), the step-swayer hairpin, has always been the favorite jewel of many a Chinese woman’s vanity closet, and even migrated across the sea in the form of Bira-bira kanzashi (びらびら簪) Yet when studying hanfu, one finds that there are two very different sorts of buyao. One stands upright and sprouts out of a base like the bough of a tree, the other dangles a strand of beads from a single straight pin. This division comes from ancient people confusing two separate types of hair ornaments for each other. Of the two, the dangling beads variety of buyao has proved to be more popular after the Song Dynasty.

A buyao is a type of hair ornament that originated with the northern steppe nomads, and spread into Northern China after repeated contact between the two peoples. While the steppe nomads led a harsher and less advanced life than the sedentary Chinese, they possessed amazing metalworking technologies and produced a plethora of delicate, beautiful ornaments, among them the buyao. Song Yu, one of the greatest poets of the Warring State Period, writes in his Ode on Satire “The master’s’ daughter, cloaked in the splendor of sun, wrapped in a green cloud-like feather cloak, and moreover dressed in a tunic of white gauze, with buyao decorated with hanging pearls...” The Shiming Dictionary, compiled by Liu Xi in the final years of the Eastern Han, defines the buyao ornament as: “Buyao, an ornament with pearls dangling down, which sways with every step.” A Xiongnu crown excavated during the Han Dynasty shows a golden band topped with a small hawk-shaped ornament, which might have bobbed up and down as the wearer walked. In this, the decorative purposes resemble that of Scythian crowns.

Xiongnu crown

Bactrian Tomb VI gold crown

Around the same time, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the buyao ornament rose in prominence to become part of a noblewoman’s ceremonial regalia. In the Book of the Later Han, the section ‘Travel and Dress’ records the Empress’ regalia for making offerings at the ancestral temple as: “Bejeweled in buyao and zan-er. The buyao has a peaked base constructed of gold, connects white pearl pendants in the shape of intersecting osmanthus branches, and features one jue and nine flowers, along with the six beasts of, bear, tiger, red bruin, heavenly hart, evil-repelling chimera, and the Great Divine Horned Beast of Nanshan, which are the ‘In her headdress, and the cross-pins, with their six jewels’ mentioned in the Classic of Poetry. The jue and the various beasts all have their fur and feathers constructed from jadeite and their base constructed from gold, and are further surrounded with white dang beads, with clusters of flowers constructed from jadeite.” A buyao has a golden peak base. The basic shape of the base is rectangular, but can also be peaked like the golden badge of the Emperor’s crown. There are also buyao which have bases shaped like horses and oxen and other animals. Above the base, white pearls are strung into vertical branches like those of the osmanthus tree. On the branches perch one jue and nine flower decorations. A “jue” is a Chinese word denoting “nobility”. This character is interchangeable with the character for “pheasant”, having evolved out of the use of pheasant-shaped crowns by nobility of neolithic times. When used to refer to jewelry, it denotes a bird-shaped ornament. A “jue”, then, is a jeweled bird perched upon the branches of the buyao. Also perched on the branches are six auspicious beasts, imitating the “cross-pins with their six jewels” mentioned in the Classic of Poetry. A tiger is a tiger; a bear is the Asian black bear; a red bruin is a brown bear; a heavenly hart is a deer with a single horn and a long tail, which serves as a companion to the chimera; a chimera, also called pixiu, is a beast with the head of a dragon and the body of a tiger, but short and squat; a Great Divine Horned Beast of Nanshan is a divine bull spirit said to reside in the trunks of ancient trees. The bird and all the beasts have a golden base, and have jadeite inlays forming feathers and fur. They are surrounded by white beads in the shape of double-headed, narrow-waisted drums. The nine clusters of flowers are also constructed from jadeite.

Han Dynasty gold bird and flower ornaments

The size and prominence of the buyao increased come the Jin Dynasty, and the scale became eight bird decorations and nine clusters of flowers. Also added to the Empress’ regalia were twelve huadian hairpins. With the advent of Xianbei rule during the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, buyao gained popularity with the upper classes. Not only was it worn by women, but also by men. One group of Xianbei, due to their custom of wearing golden buyao, took the name of the ornament as their surname, becoming the Murong Xianbei.

Various buyao of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

Northern Yan gold Murong buyao crown

Depictions of Jin Dynasty and Northern Wei women wearing buyao

The ‘Etiquette’ section of the Book of Song from the Northern and Southern Dynasties records: “According to the regulations of the Han, the Empress Dowager’s robe for entering the ancestral temple and offering sacrifices would have a navy top and a black bottom. The robe for the Silkworm Ceremony would have a blue top and a white bottom. Both are forms of shenyi, which means one continuous garment. Her hair would be jeweled with a jianmao band. According to the regulations of the Han, The Empress’ robes for entering the ancestral temple and offering sacrifices would have a navy top and a black bottom. The robes for the Silkworm ceremony would have a blue top and a white bottom. Her hair would be jewelled with a false coiffure wig, and a buyao featuring eight pheasants and nine flowers and decorated with jadeite. The Jin Dynasty annotations of the ‘Silkworm Ceremony’ chapter note that the Empress has twelve huadian, buyao, and a great-handed coiffure wig; and wears a pure blue robe with jade waist-pendant and train. In the current era, the Empress wears a long swallow-tail hem robe that has been given the name of the Great Pheasant robe.” The “Etiquette” section of the Book of Sui records the regalia of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, with the Empress’ regalia from the Liang and the Chen Dynasties in the south being: “When the Empress visited the ancestral temple, she wore the long robe with apron which also serves as her wedding gown, given of the Great Pheasant robe. Its top is black and its bottom is black. The robe for the Silkworm Ceremony, on the other hand, has a blue top and a white bottom. Both are forms of shenyi. The borders of the collars and sleeves would be obscured and hemmed with strips of green. Her hair would be jewelled with a false coiffure wig; buyao, which is also called the beaded pine; and zan-er. The buyao has a peaked base constructed of gold, connects white pearl pendants in the shape of intersecting osmanthus branches, and features eight jue and nine flowers, along with the six beasts of, bear, tiger, red bruin, heavenly hart, evil-repelling chimera, and the Great Divine Horned Beast of Nanshan. All the birds and beasts are adorned with jadeite. The jade waist-pendant and the train are the same as the Emperor’s travelling regalia.” Meanwhile, in the North, the Northern Wei Dynasty’s regalia were: “The Empress’ seal, train, and jade waist-pendant are the same as the Emperor’s travelling regalia. Her regalia are the false coiffure wig, buyao, twelve huadian, and the eight pheasants and nine flowers. When she assists in sacrifices in the Court, she wears the Great Pheasant robe; when she accompanies the King on sacrifices outside city walls, she wears the Lesser Pheasant robe; when she attends banquets, she wears the Courtyard Pheasant robe; when she hosts the Silkworm Ceremony, she wears the Yellow Mulberry robe; when she greets the Emperor, she wears the Plain White robe; and in private, she wears the Bordered Robe. The six robes all require an apron and trailing colored sashes. The Empress Dowager’s and the Empress’ great seals are constructed of white jade, with a perimeter of one cun and two fen. They are decorated with a wyrm handle and they carry an inscription of the holder’s titles. The great seals were not widely used, and instead the Empress Dowager used Captain of the Guard’s seal which carried the name of her palace of residence, and the Empress used the seal of the Chief Eunuch. The Inner and Outer Titled Women of rank five and above have their hair jeweled with a false coiffure wig and their rank expressed through the number of huadian they wear.” The Northern Zhou Dynasty in turn had: “The Empress’ flower ornaments are arranged in twelve clusters. The wives of the barons decrease one cluster of flowers for each number of their rank. Below the Three Consorts and the wives of the Three Excellencies again decrease one cluster of flowers for each number of their rank. Women of the first rank wear three clusters of flowers fewer than the Empress.” During the Sui Dynasty, the buyao with flower clusters and the huadian of the Northern Dynasties were combined into the flower crown, which then in turn evolved into the Phoenix Crown.

Early Tang Dynasty Empress Xiao Crown

All of these buyao, without exception, refer to branched buyao with a base. There are no records of buyao with dangling beads. The people of the Later Han Dynasty compared the Empress’ ceremonial attire to the ceremonial headdresses found in the Rites of Zhou. From their annotations, one can see their concept of a buyao ornament. In “Book 1: Heavenly Minister Great Administrator” of Rites of Zhou, the section “Service of the Chief Jeweler” records: “Zhuishi, the Chief Jeweler: He is charged with overseeing the headdresses of the Queen, which are the tiaras, the wigs, the hairpieces, the caps, the crosspins and the hairsticks. These ornaments serve as the headdresses of the Nine Companions as well as the Outer and Inner Titled Women so that they might attend sacrifices or receive guests. In the event of a funeral, he shall bear the same responsibilities over the hairsticks and mourning ties.” Annotations from the Later Han Dynasty scholar Zheng Xuan in Rites of Zhou, Annotated and Explicated state: “Zhui: a type of cap. The ‘Capping Rites for Common Officers’ section of Etiquette and Ceremonial records: ‘Weimo, the name during Zhou. Zhangfu, the name during Shang. Muzhui, the name used by the lords of the Xia.’ The Zhuishi is thus the master of caps and crowns, and so too does he oversee the headdresses of the queen. The item of Fu or Tiara: a woman’s headdress. ‘A Summary Account of Sacrifices’ from the Book of Rites states: ‘The ruler, in yellow-black robes and square-topped crown, stood at the top of the steps on the east, while his wife in her Tiara Headdress and Great Pheasant robe, stood in the chamber on the east.’ The Heng, or Crosspins, are items that fasten the cap in place. The Spring and Autumn Chronicle lists ‘crosspins, ear tassels, fastening strings, and crown coverings—all these illustrate his observance of the statutory measures.’ All refer to the fact that a Fu tiara references the word ‘covering’, which has the same sound, and therefore, the tiara is an ornament that covers the head. Its modern derivation is the buyao. It is worn when accompanying the King to sacrifices. The item of Bian or Wig: used to coif the hair, its modern derivation is the false coiffure wig. It is worn when attending the Silkworm Ceremony. The item of Ci, or Hairpiece: used to adjust the length of the hair, its other name is the false lock. It is worn when attending upon the King. When the Queen is in private, she but fastens her hair with streamers and a hairstick. The Classic of Poetry has the line: ‘Engraved and chiselled are the ornaments.’ The Queen’s crosspins and hairsticks are all made of jade. Only sacrificial regalia includes crosspins. They hang to the two sides of the tiara above the ears, and below each of them jade plugs dangle from ear tassels. The lines ‘How rich and splendid is her pheasant-figured robe! Her black hair in masses like clouds, no false locks does she descend to. There are her ear-plugs of jade…’ from the Classic of Poetry refer to these ornaments. The item of Ji, or Hairstick: used to curl up the hair. Outer and Inner Titled Women dressed in the Yellow Mulberry robe wear wigs, while those dressed in the black Bordered Robe wear hairpieces. When the Outer and Inner Titled women are not assisting the Queen in rituals of sacrifices or greeting guests, their regalia goes down a rank back in their own homes. For example, ‘Then the wife of the host builds up her hair with false locks. She wears the Bordered Robe with wide flowing sleeves.’ from ‘Rites of the Secondary Pen Victim Offering’, and ‘The wife of the Master of Ceremonies, with her hair wrapped in streamers, and wearing dark Everyday Robes’ from ‘Rites of of the Single Victim Food Offering’, from Etiquette and Ceremonial. In the section of ‘Nuptial Rites for a Common Officer,’ the bride’s hairpiece and black Bordered Robe are an exception to clothing restrictions allowed for celebratory costumes. The groom wears a nobleman’s square-topped cap to greet her. Wide flowing sleeves refer to the sleeves of the Bordered Robe. The wives of the great barons dress in the same clothes as the queen in their own fiefs.”

By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the Han Dynasty annotations had become too esoteric, so the Tang Dynasty scholar Jia Gongyan expanded upon the annotations with: “The line ‘He is charged with overseeing the headdresses of the Queen’ draws a parallel between the Chief Jeweler and the Master Haberdasher of Ministry of Summer, who oversees the headdresses of the men. The headdresses of the women are the tiara, the wig, and the hairpiece. In the line “zhui bonnet, crosspin, and hairstick”, “zhui” actually means to carve jade. Thus, it means “crafting jade into cross-pins and hairsticks.” In the line “These ornaments serve as the headdresses of the Nine Companions as well as the Outer and Inner Titled Women”, the phrase “as well as” mean the same as when used to describe the duties of the Director of the Clothing of the Inner Quarters. Both connote the difference of rank between women listed. The Hereditary Titled Women are not listed under the Nine Companions.. Therefore, in abbreviated list given by the text, Outer Titled Women refer to the wives of the Three Excellencies and the wives of the great officers, while Inner Titled women refer only to the Royal Concubines.The line ‘so that they might attend sacrifices or receive guests’ also refers to their duty to assist the queen during rituals. According to the annotations from Minister of Finance Zheng, the line ‘Zhui: a type of cap’ quotes ‘Capping Rites for Common Officers’ as proof because of the explanation found in ‘Capping Rites’ about the Muzhui cap used by the lords of Xia. In the line ‘The Zhuishi is thus the master of caps and crowns, and so too does he oversee the headdresses of the queen”, Minister Zheng implies that the Chief Jeweller oversees the construction of the caps and crowns, while the Master Haberdasher oversees their design, similar to how while the Tailor is responsible for the sewing of the robes, there are also the offices of the Director of Clothing and Director of the Clothing of the Inner Quarters; and, therefore, there are two officers in charge of the men’s headwear. Yet contrary to Minister Zheng’s analysis, if the Chief Jeweller was also charged with overseeing the men’s headwear, then his duties would be described in the same manner as those of the Cordwainer: ‘he is charged overseeing the footwear of the King and Queen,’ with the King and Queen mentioned separately. As the description does not include the King, it is apparent that the two offices are not both responsible for the King’s headgear, and instead, the Chief Jeweller only oversees the headdresses of the Queen and the women ranked under her. The quote from ‘A Summary Account of Sacrifices’ proves that a tiara is an item of jewelry. The quote from the Spring and Autumn Chronicle is cited from the remonstration of Zang Aibo during the second year of Duke Huan. When he lists the ‘crosspins, ear tassels, fastening strings, and crown coverings’, he refers to crosspins being used by men. Using this as evidence Minister Zheng implies that both men and women use crosspins, and both their headgear would be in the charge of the Master Jeweller. Yet after this, Minister Zheng does not involve any men nor their regalia in his annotations. ‘All refer to the fact that a Fu tiara references the word ‘covering’, which has the same sound, and therefore, the tiara is an ornament that covers the head.’ The word of “fu” means “secondary” or “to assist” and thus is also used to mean “to cover.” Minister Zheng states ‘Its modern derivation is the buyao’. The buyao of the Han Dynasty refers to an ornament worn on the head that sways with the wearer’s step. He must have come to this conclusion by observing the modern regalia and using it as a basis to reconstruct the ancient version. Much time has elapsed between the Han Dynasty and now, and it is impossible to know whether or not he was right. The Classic of Poetry mentions ‘In her headdress, and the cross-pins, with their six jewels’, referring to six items added to the tiara, yet what items remains unknown. As a result, Minister Zheng’s annotations of the Classic of Poetry state, ‘A tiara is a hairstick with added items. I have not found out the design used by the ancients’. In the line ‘It is worn when accompanying the King to sacrifices’, Minister Zheng implies that the Three Pheasant Robes all include a tiara as a headdress. The sacrifices include offerings to the ancient kings, the ancient princes, and the multitude of offerings to lesser divinities, which are thus all encapsulated in the word ‘sacrifices’. In the line ‘the item of Bian or Wig: used to coif the hair’, Minister Zheng again uses the typical meaning of the word ‘bian’, which means to arrange, to interpret the function of the headdress. The line ‘ its modern derivation is the false coiffure wig’ is again Minister Zheng extrapolating the ancient version from contemporary wigs, and on this also, too much time has elapsed to know whether or not he was right. ‘It is worn when attending the Silkworm Ceremony’. Previous annotations state that the Yellow Mulberry robe is worn to the Silkworm Ceremony, while later annotations along with Minister Zheng’s Answers state that the headdress for the Plain White robe is the false coiffure; therefore, only mentioning the Yellow Mulberry robe being worn to the Silkworm ceremony, while not mentioning the Plain White robe is an abbreviation. The wig is also worn with the Plain White Robe. The line ‘the item of Ci, or Hairpiece: used to adjust the length of the hair’ is also a literal interpretation. Since the headdress is called ‘ci’, and ‘ci’ means ‘to measure’, the headdress is understood to be an item that adjusts the length of the hair. The line ‘its other name is the false lock clarifies that the ‘false locks’ from ‘Rites of the Secondary Pen Victim Offering’ is the same as the ci hairpiece. The term ‘false lock’ is based off the term for shaved locks, and refers to the practice of shaving the hair of slaves or criminals and weaving it into a toupee. Minister Zheng must have understood that the Three Pheasant Robes are coupled with the tiara, the Yellow Mulberry and the Plain White robes are coupled with the wig, and the Bordered Robe is coupled with the hairpiece. The King has three sacrificial robes, all of of which coupled with the flat-topped crown, therefore, for the Queen’s three sacrificial robes, they must all be paired with the the tiara. When the ‘Nuptial’ section mentions ‘the bride in her hairpiece and black robe,’ the black robe is the Bordered Robe, and it is coupled to the hairpiece. Thus, the typical headdress for the Bordered Robe must be the hairpiece. There is also the wig, which is understood to be the headdress for the Yellow Mulberry and Plain White robes. The hairpiece is stated to be ‘worn when attending upon the King’, while previous annotations state the Plain White robe is worn ‘when greeting the King with full dignities’, which would mean that the Plain White robe coupled to the hairpiece is used to greet the King with full dignities. Here, it is stated that the hairpiece is used to attend upon the King, therefore, there must be two contexts for attending upon the King: the first, greeting the King with full honors while holding court, using the same regalia used for greeting guests, which is the wig and the Plain White robe; the second, the hairpiece and the Bordered Robe. The hairpiece and the Bordered Robe is used to receive the King in the Queen’s personal apartments. ‘When the Queen is in private, she but fastens her hair with streamers and a hairstick.’ According to the ‘Capping Rites for Common Officers’, a streamer is six chi long and used to wrap the hair. The hairstick is used to secure the hair. To fasten means to both tie the start of the hair and secure the ends. Being in private means the Queen is not alongside the King, and is by herself in her own apartments. The poem ‘Ji Ming’ from the Classic of Poetry states, The east is bright; the court is crowded’. The Mao Commentary contains the annotation ‘the east is bright means that the Lady has arrived in the King’s court wearing streamers and a hairstick.’ Yet the wives of the great barons dress the same as the Queen in their own fiefs, and as for attending court wearing a streamer and hairstick, these annotations state that the tiara, wig, and hairpiece are worn to attend sacrifices or greet guests, clearly indicating that the hairpiece is not used in private, so naturally, the hair is arranged with a streamer and hairstick. However, when the Mao Commentary states that the Lady attended court wearing a streamer and hairstick, it is because Mao Ting himself had witnessed it, and not derived from Minister Zheng’s analysis. If so, those who do not follow Zheng’s analysis might take Mao’s interpretation, as there are no texts that state a streamer and hairstick is worn in private. In actuality, the headdress for paying court to the King is the wig. Citing the Classic of Poetry’s ‘engraved and chiselled are the ornaments’, ‘zhui’ means ‘to carve’. The line ‘the Queen’s crosspins and hairsticks are all made of jade’ can be supported with the statement in the section of the Master Haberdasher that the King’s hairsticks are made of jade, and thus it is known that the King and the Queen both use jade for their ornaments. The section of the Master Haberdasher states that ‘the dukes use earstoppers of jade’, and the Classic of Poetry’s ‘there are her ear-plugs of jade’, refers to wives of the great barons, proving both the lords and their ladies use jade earstoppers, and so their crosspins and hairsticks should also be of jade. The wives of the Three Excellencies and the Three Noble Ladies also dress in Pheasant Robes, so it is clear that their crosspins and hairsticks are also constructed from jade, while the Nine Companions use ivory. The line ‘Only sacrificial regalia includes crosspins’, those who know the context, seeing that the Queen is listed separately from the Nine Companions and those ranked below them, understand that there is a difference between the attire of the Queen and the attires of the lower ranked ladies, and therefore, the crosspins are only worn alongside the Pheasant Robes, and ceremonial attire descending from the Yellow Mulberry robe do not include crosspins. Again referencing Zang Aibo’s speech from the second year of Duke Huan, ‘His ceremonial robe, crown, kneecovers, and sceptre; his girdle, kilt, buskins, and shoes; his crown’s crosspins, ear tassels, fastening strings, and crown coverings’ all refer to a man’s mianfu sacrificial regalia, and thus proves that a woman’s crosspins are only worn alongside the Three Pheasant Robes. This is the reason Minister Zheng asserts that only sacrificial regalia includes crosspins. Yet while the Yellow Mulberry and lesser ranked robes do not include crosspins, their regalia should still include ear tassels from which to hang earstoppers. Because the poem ‘Zhu’ from the Classic of Poetry includes the lines ‘The strings of his ear-stoppers were of white silk’, ‘of green silk’, and ‘of yellow silk’, referring to the tassels that subordinate officers use to suspend their earstoppers, it is known that women of lower rank also have tassels from which to suspend earstoppers. ‘They hang to the two sides of the tiara above the ears, and below each of them jade plugs dangle from ear tassels.’ The Spring and Autumn Chronicle groups ‘crosspins, ear tassels, fastening strings, and crown coverings’ together, with the ear tassels immediately following the crosspins, clearly stating that the ear tassels were created for use with the crosspins. Since the hairstick is worn horizontally, the crosspins must be worn slanting down. If so, the “heng” crosspins, which pronounced the same as the word for “horizontal”, and the reason they slant downwards but are still regarded as horizontal is because while the hairsticks are described as horizontal for penetrating horizontally through the bun, the crosspins are at the sides above the ears, so regarding the human body as vertical, they form a horizontal line. From these crosspins are suspended two earstoppers on tassels. Analyzing the ‘Odes of Yong’ portion of the Classic of Poetry, the annotations state: ‘“Pi from the first line refers to something rich or splendid. “Zhen” from the third line refers to glossy black hair. “Like clouds” refers to hair being long and beautiful. “Descending” means descending to use. “False locks” refers to a hairpiece.’ This passage is used as reference to prove that the Pheasant Robe includes crosspins, and thus Minister Zheng adds that the poem ‘refers to these ornaments’. The color of the tassels vary with the type of gem used for the earstopper. Ladies who are qualified to wear the Pheasant Robes have tassels of five colors and earstoppers of jade; those qualified for the Yellow Mulberry robe and those of lesser rank use tassels of only three colors and earstoppers of stone. Those who know the context will refer to the ‘the strings of his ear-stoppers were of white silk’ from ‘Zhu’. Minister Zheng writes in his annotations: ‘This poem describes someone following a gentleman out into the entranceway, and there, the gentleman offers him a salute. As the narrator regards the gentleman, he notices that his earstoppers have strings of white silk, referring to the strings from which his earstoppers hang down, cloth ear tassels which are woven from thread of five colors for rulers, but only three colors for subordinate officers. Strings of white describe the color first noticed by the speaker.’ The next line is ‘And there were appended to them beautiful Hua-stones.’ The annotation states that hua-stones are ‘a sort of precious stone.’ The next stanzas include ‘green silk’ and ‘yellow silk’, encompassing the three colors of thread used by subordinate officers, and therefore, the annotations explain that rulers use five colors of threads. The Classic of Poetry also includes ‘ear-plugs of jade’, which proves that a ruler’s wife uses earstoppers of jade, so a subordinate officer’s wife would be the same as her husband in using earstoppers of opaque gems. The Mao Commentary defines “white” to refer to ivory earstoppers. The reason Minister Zheng does not agree with this assessment is because, if the earstoppers themselves were of ivory, why mention the opaque gems? As a result, Minister Zheng interprets the colors to refer to the tassels of the earstoppers. ‘Ji, or Hairstick: used to curl up the hair.’ The ‘Brief Record of Funeral Robes’ in Minister Zheng’s annotations for the Book of Rites also state that ‘the hairstick and the belt must remain as they were first curled or fastened.’ ‘Outer and Inner Titled Women dressed in the Yellow Mulberry and Plain White robes wear wigs, while those dressed in the black Bordered Robe wear hairpieces.’ Those who know the context will refer to the the ‘Nuptial’ section mentioning ‘the bride in her hairpiece and black robe’, and understand that the black robe is the Bordered Robe. Since the groom, a common officer, wears a nobleman’s square-topped cap to greet her, in an exception from clothing restrictions, the common officer’s bride, similarly elevated, should wear the Bordered Robe and decorate her hair with the hairpiece. Since the Bordered Robe is coupled with the hairpiece, and the Three Pheasant Robes are coupled with the tiara, thus it stands to reason that the Yellow Mulberry and the Plain White robes are coupled with the wig. ‘When the Outer and Inner Titled women are not assisting the Queen in rituals of sacrifices or greeting guests, their regalia goes down a rank back in their own homes.’ Those who know the context understand that the wives of great officers wear the Plain White robes with the wig and the wives of common officers wear the Bordered Robe with the hairpiece when in company of the Queen. ‘Rites of the Secondary Pen Victim Offering’ and ‘Rites of of the Single Victim Food Offering’ detail the rites of sacrifice in ancestral temples for great and common officers and their wives’ participation. ‘Rites of of the Single Victim Food Offering’ states ‘‘The wife of the Master of Ceremonies, with her hair wrapped in streamers, and wearing dark Everyday Robes’ and ‘Rites of the Secondary Pen Victim Offering’ states ‘Then the wife of the host builds up her hair with false locks. She wears the Bordered Robe with wide flowing sleeves.’ As the wife of the great officer’s wide flowing sleeves were worthy of notice, and she does not wear the wig, it is apparent that her ceremonial attire is of a lower rank in her own home. Again with ‘Rites of the Secondary Pen Victim Offering’ as evidence, ‘the wide flowing sleeves are the sleeves of the Bordered Robe’.’ This is the explanation Minister Zheng gives for ‘Rites of the Secondary Pen Victim Offering’, that the host’s wife’s wide flowing sleeves come from widening the sleeves of the Bordered Robe. The previous text only states that the host’s wife wears garments with wide flowing sleeves, with the explanation of widening the sleeves of the Bordered Robe differing from the original text. Yet when the wife of common officers wear the Everyday Robes and the Bordered Robe for participating in sacrifices and marrying, they do not widen the sleeves. Here, the wife of the great officer widens the sleeve of her Everyday Robes to form the sleeves of the Bordered Robe. As the wives of great officers and common officers both wear Everyday Robes, and the sleeves of the Everyday Robes are not mentioned as wide or flowing, widened sleeves must belong on the Bordered Robe. ‘The wives of the great barons dress in the same clothes as the queen in their own fiefs.’ The wives of the various ministers assist the Queen and the Great Ladies in offering sacrifices, while the Great Ladies themselves do not assist the Queen. Therefore, in their own fiefs, they use the same regalia as the Queen. As to how similar, the wife of the great dukes qualify for the Great Pheasant robe down to the Bordered Robe. The Great Pheasant robe is used for paying reverence to the ancestral temple alongside the ruler, the Lesser Pheasant robe is used in sacrifices to the various gods of nature, the Courtyard Pheasant robe is used in sacrifices to all the lesser gods, the Yellow Mulberry robe is used for the Silkworm Ceremony, the Plain White Robe is used for greeting guests and paying court to the ruler, the Bordered Robe is used for greeting the ruler. The wives of the marquesses and counts qualify for the Lesser Pheasant and all robes lower in rank. The Lesser Pheasant is used to accompany the ruler to sacrifices to the ancestral temple and the various gods of nature, with the Courtyard Pheasant and all the other robes used for the same purposes as those of a Duchess. The wives of the viscounts and barons qualify for the Courtyard Pheasant and all robes lower in rank. The Courtyard Pheasant is used to accompany the ruler to sacrifices to the ancestral temple, the various gods of nature, and all the lesser gods, with the Yellow Mulberry and the other robes used for the same purpose as those of a Marchioness or Countess, as well as streamers and hairsticks coupled with the Everyday Robe for private use. The wives of the descendants of the kings of the previous dynasties and the Duchess of Lu are allowed the regalia of the great dukes. Thus the ‘Places in the Hall of Distinction’ section of the Book of Rites states: ‘In the last month of summer, the sixth month, they used the ceremonies of the great sacrifice in sacrificing to the Duke of Zhou in the great ancestral temple…[the ruler’s] wife, in her tiara and Great Pheasant robe…’”

The Three Pheasant Robes from Illustrated Three Rituals

In summary, a Muzhui is a sort cap from the Xia dynasty, similar to the Zhangfu of the Shang Dynasty and the Weimo of the Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, the Zhuishi or Chief Jeweller is the officer that oversees the royal headdresses. The Queen’s six types of headdresses include the tiara, wig, hairpiece, cap, cross-pins, and hairsticks. A “zhui” is a form of cap and crosspins are hairpins that hold the cap in place. The tiara is a headdress that covers the head, which scholars of the Han Dynasty believe to the prototype the buyao, but Tang Dynasty scholars doubt this theory and clarify that the “six jewels” of the Classic of Poetry refer to a tiara being worn alongside hairsticks, with six decorations, but the decorations themselves were never defined. A wig is used to coif the hair, and scholars of the Han Dynasty believe it to be the prototype of the false coiffure, a very popular form of wig, but the Tang Dynasty scholars also doubt this interpretation. A wig is a ceremonial decoration used in conjunction with the Yellow Mulberry robe for Silkworm ceremonies, as well as alongside the the Plain White robe to greet guests or pay court to the King. A hairpiece is another form of wig, the ancient version of hair extensions, called “false locks” during the Han Dynasty. It is woven from real human hair and used to accompany the Bordered Robe when greeting the king as his spouse. The hairpiece and the black Bordered Robe are also the wedding outfit for low level officers and commoners, with the Bordered Robe being referred to by color in the context of a wedding. When the Queen is by herself in her private apartments, she only uses a strip of cloth called a “streamer” to wrap up her hair and pin it with a hairstick. She also wears a modified Bordered Robe called the Everyday Robes. The zhui cap is paired with the crosspins. The Queeen’s crosspins are made of jade and come in a pair of left and right, with one worn on each side of the tiara, slanted with their heads coming just above the ears. A pair of earstoppers dangle from tassels attached to the head of the crosspin. Only sacrificial regalia includes crosspins, and Tang Dynasty scholars point out that sacrificial regalia is the Pheasant Robe. The Yellow Mulberry and other ceremonial robes do not include crosspins, but still have dangling earstoppers. Both crosspins slant down while the hairstick is pinned horizontally through the hair. The lines ‘How rich and splendid is her pheasant-figured robe! Her black hair in masses like clouds, no false locks does she descend to. There are her ear-plugs of jade…’ from the Classic of Poetry describes the crosspins. A hairstick is used to curl up and arrange the hair, and there are special requirements for the hairsticks used in funerals. The wives of the various ministers use ceremonial outfits of lesser rank in their own home than around the queen, but the wives of the feudal lords use similar regalia as the queen, only with different types of Pheasant Robe. From the pre-Qin rites, as well as the way that Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty scholars have interpreted them, the buyao is a vertical ornament that also covers the head. It is a radically different concept than the crosspin, which dangles beads from its end.

Yet after the Zhou Dynasty, there truly existed a form of a single-pronged, needlelike hair ornament with beads hanging from the end. As to what it looks like, and what it is, one must understand a certain ornament that was promoted alongside the buyao: zan-er (簪珥), the ear-bead.

Funeral banner of Lady Dai depicting Xin Zhui wearing a hair ornament with strings of white beads

Pre-Qin Dynasty documents that mention zan-er are the ‘King Mu of Zhou’ section of the Liezi: “the King proceeded to fill [the palace] with maidens, selected from Zheng and Wei, of the most exquisite and delicate beauty. They were anointed with fragrant perfumes, adorned with moth-eyebrows, provided with jewelled hairpins and ear beads, and arrayed in the finest silks, with costly satin trains. Their faces were powdered, and their eyebrows pencilled, their girdles were studded with precious stones. All manner of sweet-scented plants filled the palace with their odours, and ravishing music of the olden time was played to the honoured guest. Every month he was presented with fresh and costly raiment; every morning he had set before him some new and delicious food.”And the ‘Economic Policies Part I” section of Guanzi: “raising items like hairpins and ear-beads to the price of thousands of taels of gold, while they are made of jade and gems, shall acquire the homage of the land of Kunlun, eight thousand miles away. If there is no one to regulate the prices of these precious commodities, nor anyone to forge economic ties between lands, so that distantly space areas cannot benefit from each other, then none of the surrounding barbarian nations will do you homage.” Liezi refers to the lavish treatment King Mu gave to an enlightened man, with one of the ornaments adorning the palace beauties being “zan-er”. Guanzi has Guan Zhong giving Duke Huan of Qi an economics lesson, with zan-er being listed as a precious item.

Later, in the waning years of the Warring States period, Li Si of Qin submitted a petition In Advice Against the Driving Away of Guest Immigrants, mentioning: “If all the decorations of the palace, the items of entertainment, and the items that please Your Majesty’s eyes and ears must be produced in Qin, then hairpins topped with the pearls of the land of Wan, ear decorations created from the unrounded studs of the land of Fu, fine silk clothing from the land of Dong-e, and brocaded decorations would not be offered before Your Majesty. Nor might the sultry girls of Zhao stand at Your Majesty’s side.” Li Si offers a powerful pro-immigration argument by comparing the imported enjoyments of Qin Shihuang to the immigrant scholars who have come to Qin. At the same time, the “Outer Collection of Sayings” section of Han Fei’s Hanfeizi mentions “Lord Jingguo presenting ten ear-beads”, an allusion to Tian Ying, the Lord Jingguo. The Strategies of the Warring States is much more detailed: “The King of Qi’s Queen died. There were seven beautiful young women, all of whom had access to him. The Duke of Xue wished to know which of them the King wished to appoint. So he presented seven ear ornaments, one of which was particularly beautiful. On the morrow, he looked where the beautiful ear ornament was. He urged the King to appoint her as his Queen.” The son of King Wei of Qi, Tian Ying, was the feudal lord of Xue. After the Queen died, he gave his father either ten or seven “ear ornaments”, or “er”. One of them was fancier than the others, and the next day, he observed the various consorts and judged who among them was most favored and should be made queen based on who had the best “ear ornament.” From these descriptions, both hairpins and ear ornaments are precious items, and “zan-er” is an ornament of noble women. Removing the zan-er, like removing the hat and shoes, is an act of penance. In Records of the Grand Historian, the Western Han historian Sima Qian records that when Emperor Wu of Han accused Lady Gouyi of crimes and ordered her executed, “the lady removed her zan-er and prostrated herself.” Liu Xiang’s Biographies of Exemplary Women records that King Xuan of Zhou was once so enamoured with the beauty of his new bride that he thought of nothing but staying at her side, ignoring matters of state in the meantime. His wife was a wise woman, who took upon herself the responsibility to advise the King, albeit with an unorthodox method. “The queen removed her zan-er and locked herself away in the slave quarters as a criminal awaiting punishment. She sent her governess to deliver a message to the King saying, ‘Your concubine is worthless. Your concubine’s lust is apparent, in that she has seduced the King to discard the proper rituals and abstain from governance, and has transformed the King into a man who abandons virtue for pleasures of the flesh.’” The Later Han historian Xun Yue’s the Earlier Chronicles of Han records in the Chronicles of Emperor Xiaowu that when Princess Royale Guantao’s affair with Dong Yan was discovered, “the Princes removed her zan-er, and, barefoot, prostrated herself and apologized for her crimes.” The records show that as early as the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, zan-er had become a common ornament among high ranking ladies, as well as a symbol of their status. To wear the ornament was to show that one was among the highest nobility, to remove it an act of humble penance.

What sort of ornament was this zan-er? The “zan” part is easy to explain. It is the long, needle-like, single-pronged hairpin traditionally used by Chinese women. The “er” part is more complicated. First it must be made clear that during the Qin and Han dynasties, “er” could refer to any decorations that stuck out to the side of an item like ears. For example, the “Astronomy” chapter of Huainanzi uses “er” to describe the silkworm’s production of silk. Master Lu’s Commentary of Spring and Autumn uses “er” to refer to a meteorological phenomenon. The Songs of Chu use “er” to mean the handle of a sword. Yet in all the texts, when “er” is used as an item of jewelry, it is almost always coupled with the “zan”. The “Definitions” section of Li Si’s Cang-E Chapter describes “er” as “beads on the ear; beads hanging from ear ornaments are called ‘er’”. The Shuowen Jiezi dictionary compiled by Xu Shen in the time of Emperor He of Han defines “er” as “ear-stoppers; grouped with the jade particle, pronounced like the word for ‘ear’.” It further defines ear-stoppers as “Using jade to plug the ears; grouped with the jade particle, pronounced like the word for ‘truth.’ The Classic of Poetry mentions ‘there are her ear-plugs of jade.’” The Shiming defines earstoppers as “barriers; worn by the ears to caution people against listening without thinking, so that they might exercise discretion with what they hear. They might also be called ear-plugs, which mean that they can be plugged into the ears, so that they might shut out noise. That is why there is a saying that ‘lest you be blind and deaf, be not a father nor mother in law.’” These definitions, combined with the fact that “er” is written with the word for “jade” next to the word for “ear”, can cause a reader to conclude that an “er” is in fact an earring. Not only do modern people hold this misconception, but so did the ancients after the Song Dynasty. For example, the Broad Rimes compiled by Chen Pengnian in the era of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, defines “er” as “ear ornaments.” It seems then that zan-er are two different ornaments: a hairpin and a pair of earrings. Ancient China did have earrings, the earliest type appearing during the Xia and Shang Dynasties. They were called “jue”, written as two words for “jade” placed next to each other. Like its shape, the “jue” earrings were two jade disks with a round hole in the middle and a long, narrow gap at the side. It could be worn by slipping the earlobe in the gap, or running the earlobe through with a length of rope, on which could also be threaded the earring. After the Zhou Dynasty, it became obsolete and survived as the singular “jue” ornament worn at the waist. Then, during the Later Han Dynasty, a new ear ornament, the moon-bright pearls, spread into China alongside Buddhism. These pearls had a pinched, drum-like profile, and two flat, round ends, appearing to be a bright moon. They were not so easy to wear as modern earrings, requiring the wearer to first make a hole on the ear and start with a small ornament, and then gradually increase the size until the piercing becomes large enough to admit the moon-bright pearls. At the same time, because of the weight of the ornaments, the earlobes lengthen and droop, which is the true cause of Buddha’s big ears. Several Han Dynasty terracotta tomb figurines depict women with ear piercings, reflecting the popularity of ear ornaments.

Shang and Zhou Dynasty jade jue

Han Dynasty moon-bright pearls

Early Tang Dynasty mural of Bodhisattva with ear ornaments

However, the greatest obstacle to this interpretation is that the Shiming defines moon-bright pearls as: “beads that require piercing the ears are called studs; this custom was originally found among barbarian tries. The barbarian women are lascivious and flighty, so they use these clinking ear ornaments to restrain their movements. In the modern day, Chinese people have started imitating them.” Since piercing the ears is a barbarian custom, it would not have been admitted into formal rituals, or become part of ceremonial clothing to be worn by the people of the Zhou Dynasty. Thus, the “zan-er” that appears as a part of the Imperial regalia of the Later Han must be some other form of ornament. Returning to “ear-plugs” a commentary by Wang Fuzhi of the Qing Dynasty on the Classic of Poetry states: “ear-plugs, or studs, are decorations on the Imperial crown.” Ear-plugs have been a decoration on the crowns of several generations of emperors. Ancient caps and crowns required a hairpin to pin it to a man’s hairbun, and on either side of the hairpin for the mianfu crown, one jade ball would be suspended from either side, left and right, and allowed to hang down next to the ears. These are the “ear-plugs”, which remind the emperor to listen to good advice and dismiss idle chit-chat.

Mian crown with earplugs

From the information above, we can conclude that a zan-er is a female version of the earplug. Like the male version, it consists of beads hanging down from the ends of hairpins. The beads reach to the sides of the ears, and thus would be written with a character composed of “jade” and “ear”. The Later Book of Han actually clearly records the zan-er as a single ornament. The Empress’ zan-er requirements were: “Zan-er. Er--dangling drum-shape ear beads. The zan, or hairstick, has a body constructed of turtle shell, one chi in length. It ends are covered in flower disks, which is decorated with the pattern of a phoenix bird with feathers of jadeite. Underneath there are white beads from which hang golden nie ornaments. The hairstick is worn horizontal, from left to right, and used to secure the hair band. The zan-er all share the same design, but the body differs depending on rank of the wearer.” The zan-er is a hairpin which has drum-shaped beads hanging down toward the sides of the ears. Its body is made of turtle shell and very long, while both its ends sport flower disks or huasheng, a sort of circular plate-shaped ornament decorated with flower designs. The ceremonial regalia zan-er has flower disks decorated with a phoenix pattern, with jadeite arranged into feathers, and underneath are white beads and golden “nie”. “Nie,” usually meaning “tweezers”, in this context, is used to refer to small, thin ornaments that hang down. Therefore, golden nie are strings of small golden ornaments. Every zan-er has two identical heads, and is arranged horizontally in the coiffure to secure the headband. All the noblewomen who qualify have the same design of zan-er, but the body of the ornament differs according to rank.

In summary, Zan-er before the Tang Dynasty refers to the modern day dangling bead buyao!

Han Dynasty depictions of the goddess Queen Mother of the West wearing double-headed flower disks

Reconstruction of woman wearing ornament with drum-shaped beads

As to why zan-er and buyao would be confused for each other, I have not yet done enough research to find the answer. I only know that late into the Tang period, as recorded in the Song Dynasty author Wang Dang’s Tang Dynasty Prose, “In the Changqing era, the jewelry of the women of the Capital included gold, jasper, pearls, and jadeite; hairsticks, combs, and buyao, not one of which was not exceedingly beautiful, and they were called the ‘hundred unknowns.’ Women shaved away their brows and drew three or four horizontal purple lines beneath their eyes, a look called the “bloody makeup”. During the late dynasty, buyao had become very widespread, and was listed along with hairsticks and combs as commonly seen ornaments. Based on excavated artifacts, this was the dangling pearl variety of buyao. By that time, the definition of buyao had already changed. By the time of the Song Dynasty, according to Miscellaneous Facts Among the Orchids (lost, selections cited in the Yuan Dynasty short story collection Records of Sakra’s Divine Library), “Everyone believes buyao is used by women to hold up their hair. That is incorrect. It is built by twisting silver wires into the shape of flowering branches, then pinned behind the hair so it might sway with every step, increasing a woman’s sensual allure. That is why it is called the buyao, the step-swayer”. At this point, the populace no longer recognised the branching buyao, and instead only know about buyao with strings of beads. My own hypothesis is that with the advent of Buddishm and flower crowns that sought to emulate the decorations of Bodhisattva iconography, the Han Dynasty zan-er began to lose its appeal, and evolved into the crown wings that can be seen in modern phoenix crowns. When the dangling pearl buyao came back into vogue, everyone had already forgotten the previous name, remembering only the buyao.

Tang Dynasty stone line engraving from Tomb of Princess Yongtai, depicting woman wearing ornament with dangling beads

Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses attributed to Zhou Fang

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was yet another type of hair ornament called the chai-nie, the tweezer clips. Chai are double-pronged hairpins akin to the modern day hairclip. Nie has already been defined above. In the context of jewelry, it refers to small, lightweight dangling decorations. Chai-nie were also common ornaments during this time, as can be seen from Biography of Empress Wang Wen-an from the Book of Southern Qi: “The Crown Prince issued new and luxurious clothes and jewels for all his palace women, yet the Queen’s bed canopy and the items in her room were the same as old, and she only had ten or so chai-nie.”

This type of ornament also remained in use into the modern era, only it is referred to with the blanket term buyao. The modern day buyao includes both single and double prong variants.

Late Tang Dynasty “buyao” double-prong hairpin

In conclusion, for all the people out there studying hanfu and ancient texts, please be mindful: Before the Tang Dynasty, when texts refer to buyao, they are referring to a vertical ornament with a base at the bottom and spreading branches on top. Zan-er refer to horizontal, single ended or double ended, single-prong ornament with trailing beads at the end. Chai-nie refers to a double-pronged ornament trailing beads at the end. As for clothing in the modern era, the time is so removed from the Tang Dynasty that it makes no difference whether an ornament is buyao or zan-er.

#jewelry #chinese #china #chinese history #ancient china #hanfu #women's history #history

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lilmajorshawty · 7 years ago

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i'm trying to guess this dude's venus sign and i was wondering how each venus sign might act when they're crushing on someone? thank you!

Aries venus(m/f)1st house: they tend to be a mixture of straightforward-cat and mouse. Mars being their ruler they can at times act like Scorpio venus with the game playing but it’s less psychological since Aries is a physical sign so they will often try to seduce you through their actions! And showing off their assets! Be it their arms or their body-their beautiful hair or their gorgeous eyes-for them it’s about the seductive tug. They often try to argue with you a lot and may be a little unruly for no reason when they’re trying to win you over! Aha and they’ll act like they can’t stand you whilst jokingly smirking. Very playful and honest! And if you somehow don’t catch on to their efforts they either leave it alone or they straight up let you know(depending on the circumstances)

Taurus venus(m/f)2nd house: very sensual. I’d say they move very slow so they might not outright show you anything to really sit down and be like “they like me” but they’ll gradually let you know in their body language, such as getting more nervous around you-fidgeting with their body(which isn’t normal of venus In Taurus mainly because they are normally “comfortable” and messing with their body is a sign of being “uncomfortable” May avoid eye contact or being around you to much as they tend to have strong desires especially when they like someone! Can be a bit stiff and more cut and dry with you to protect themselves. They will stare a lot! But only in the beginning after that they avoid eye contact like cray cray! Also they will show off their personal possessions be it the nice watch, the nice car, the nice shoes or whatever it is they will want you to see how much of a provider they can be for you and themselves. OH AND THEYRE VERY VERY VERYYYYYYYYY GOOD at the lingering touch! So pay attention to how they touch you/how they lean in and how they create moments in which you could touch or grab them!!(they want you to touch them)

Gemini venus(m/f)3rd house: wow (me), can be a bit all over the place when they like you aha! A little bit of a schoolgirl/schoolboy thing and it can be very obvious depending on where mercury is located in their chart! If it’s in a earth or water house they can be a bit harder to read but if In an air or fire house they are veryyyyyy obvious about it. They play with their hands a lot and can bite their lips and or do little small nuances such as long sighs and or sweating when around a crush if they really like em. They love communication so if you’re easy to talk to that helps a great deal and allows them to feel safe expressing that desire. They tend to be goofy as hell and super easy to talk to when they like you! And tend to adapt to your sense of humor very easily. You’ll notice the “twins” come out they’ll be bubbly and curious one moment then intense and serious the next. They’re honestly very shy and reclusive when they like you surprisingly and tend to wait on cues from the other person before they do anything big.

Cancer venus(m/f)4th house: actually they tend to be the more blunt of the water venus! They don’t hide it but they also don’t make it easy for you either. They tend to send out signals through staring and deliberate intimacy and touching but they can also have moments where they stop doing these things out of nowhere. They tend to be passive aggressive so you’ll have to be patient with them as often they reflect their actions A. L O T. So don’t get alarmed if they disappear they’re worse then Scorpio when it comes to this. They don’t play mind games but they do test a lot and may try to see how much you like them based on these test but for the most part even if you were to fail they don’t give up on you they just kind of distance themselves a little. They are very nurturing and I know that’s a typical thing to say but they’re actually so sweet and tender but easily hurt so be careful about how you react to their gestures.

Leo venus(m/f)5th house: charming! Usually forward but a bit of the praise me aesthetic going on. They will express a desire to be around you but also won’t do so unless you’ve show them that you value them being their in the first place. I call them the “true libra” as they will only do something if you do it. So the more interest you show them then the more of them you’ll see. They act a bit like scorpios in the sense that they TAKE THE CRUSHING SERIOUSLY so even if you’re not looking for a serious relationship try not to “play the field” in their face as they’ll get vindictive and or cut you off fast as hell. They love to care for you and look amazing to you and may be showoffs! The guys talk about their body a lot and excuse my language but their “package” women will have a sense of pride about their looks and will often reference themselves as being “the best/baddest” which is ironic because they don’t typically do this unless they’re trying to win someone over.

Virgo venus(m/f)6th house: it’s all in the actions. They don’t really talk much it’s more or so in how and what they do. They might grab your coat for you or put your books away-they might offer to grab you an umbrella or give you some food, they might give you a modest compliment or be very gentle with you. They tend to be more about showing you than saying and this is even when they’re dating you they just don’t like having to express their desire for you through simple words as often for them the actions speak much louder. They can be very quiet and nervous around you and seemingly look as if they want to get the fuck oughta there but they’ll stay. Usually serious faces but tends to brighten up the moment you touch them. Not likely to outright touch you unless you touch them first! Honestly they’re sweethearts but they take a long ass time to do things on their own that are romantic so you’ll usually have to make the first move as they need to be vocally told that you like them otherwise they’ll be in limbo wondering if the wink you gave them was romantic or because a fly flew into your eye.

Libra venus(m/f)7th house: OH MY GOD THEY’RE SOOOOOOOO FUNNY AHA they tend to be really corny fellows and gals and have a thing about winning you over by talking your head off but mind you they’re so magnetic and have a very sweet yet alluring way of talking to you! They tend to smile very huge and bright smiles when they like you and I’m not kidding! Pay attention to their eyes as well as libra venus tend to squint and do low smirks when there feeling someone as they often are truly trying to adapt and or function in a way they looks the most flattering to you and which increases there chances of being with you. They are often fairly direct almost like an Aries venus and have no trouble about pursing but I will say they do it through grace and charm instead of out right physical demonstrations. Can be very easy going when around you and slightly sassy with a cute disposition.

Scorpio venus(m/f)8th house: intense. I wouldn’t say they do crushes because it’ll start that way and then becomes something else unless it’s a celebrity crush aha. Usually they stare…Like so much staring..intact staring x68828191873828292929178182819292. They also send out vibes that can often feel like tension but a little bit of like being submerged in water. They tend to use anything they’ve learned from and by watching you or through local research to win you over be it knowing you favorite song, your types of colors and or what types of ways you like to be pursued based on how you react to situations they’ve seen you in. It’s all about observation for them. They aren’t impulsive despite mars being the co ruler! They do and will indulge in mind games no matter how evolved they are but the difference is the older ones no when to stop if they know it’s hurting you. They’ll be very protective and jealous over you and like Taurus they move very slow when trying to really commit and or express desire for someone! They’ll honestly be very confident around you but act like they hate you so you’ll never really know if they like you or hate you! I’ve noticed the more they act rude to you the more they like you and this is done because they need to have control over the situation and they feel as though admitting feelings for you puts them on the weaker end. Seductive sexually and very sweet.

Sagittarius venus(m/f)9th house: FUN AS HELL. Being the last fire sign they honestly are the most mature when it comes to expressing desire for someone and may be a bit more on the aloof side in the beginning! The theme here is “grandeur” so they’ll often hit you with the nomadic and independent aura seeming like nothing really fazes them including you! Similar to venus I’m aqua it’ll seem like you’re not even there but that’s apart of the dance you see! They tend to loop you for a game often trying to gauge your level of interest through your desire to reach out to them and also by seeing if you’re willing to be a bit more goofy or playful in order to get them! They’re often very caring towards their crushes and normally kind of heart if not a little childish with their games but for the most part they’ll do over the top gestures from random and swingle always be trying to have fun with you and the biggie here is if they associate having a good time with being around you.

Capricorn venus(m/f)10th house:somber! But I’ll say they can be sooooooooooooooooooooooo adorable when they like someone! Mainly because they take it seriously and due to them being a bit more of a serious character they don’t normally jump into relationships for fun-so they’ll likely keep their distance emotionally at first more on the quiet and patient side! They don’t really mind if you’re more impulsive but they usually wont speed up just because you want them too aha. They tend to be a bit gloom and doom when they’re flirting in the first stages and may lean towards self deprecating humor such as talking about how life is a terrible play or how roses aren’t always red but that aside they usually do this as a means to see if you’ll put up with their more stoic of moods. They are often very security orientated and will make sure they can provide that for you and if not they’ll likely push you away until they can. Much like Virgo venus they show you they care through actions and service! They do move really slow but it’s worth it.

Aquarius venus(m/f)11th house:the things is they are often really hard to read and this increases when they like you! Since Aquarius is ruled by Saturn and Uranus this can cause them to be erratic and serious when romantic feelings come in to play-so this can lead to paradoxical behavior on their part! So they’re either acting like you’re not their or in their heads a lot about it rather then physically! Mind you they tend to really be loving especially when they’re really like you but they can have a harder time expressing it then most due to the nature of Aquarius so they might try to be around you but also not look at your or show acknowledgement towards you whilst doing so. They also tend to show nervousness and start staying around their friends whenever you’re around when they like you as often they seek there friends out as a source of emotional comfort. It helps if you try to be their friends first as often when you come at them romantically first it scares them a bit and may cause them to shutdown until they are ready to jump into that.

Pisces venus(m/f)12th house:tends to be very vibrational! You’ll feel it similarly to Scorpio but it’ll feel much more atmospheric if anything. They pull a lot of disappearing acts normally and without warning but this is because they get overwhelmed by their feelings and need to gather themselves. They usually are very intimate and sentimental about it and will inform everyone else around them but the actual person themselves. They’ll be very very very shy and it’ll get worse the more they like you but it helps if you ease up with them. Normally I’d say they day dream about you a lot and you’ll be able to tell because they’ll start to look at you like you’re familiar to them as the days go by!

#ask #Venus crushes

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nomirabbit · 2 years ago

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Rabbit Hole #1:

I started thinking of how certain words just become a part of your lexicon from childhood and you have no idea how it happened. When did I first encounter this word? We often don't ask ourselves this, but I did last month after watching season 5 of Doctor Who. In it, the 11th doctor shouts "Geronimo!" for the first time and even sends it as a message to River Song and Amy Pond in their race against time to restore the fabric of time as the TARDIS continues to explode, causing gaps in history and memory (not getting into this now though).

Anyway, the point is, some words just stick with you throughout childhood due to their frequent use in cartoons, books and other children's entertainment. Geronimo is one of them for me.

It is defined as a way to express excitement or happiness, usually when doing something adventurous, eg. what a sky diver would yell before jumping out of a plane. In fact, it was a battle cry used by paratroopers, especially during World War II, on jumping from a plane.

I also found out (did not know this until I googled the definition) that Geronimo, or Goyaale, was a man! A prominent leader and medicine man born June 16, 1829 and died February 17, 1909 from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. He led numerous raids and related combat actions during the period of the Apache - United States conflict, which started with the American invasion of Apache lands following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848.

He orchestrated breakouts on reservations, which were confining to the free-moving Apache people, in attempts to return his people to their previous nomadic lifestyle. It would be like if the Freeman population in Dune were put in reservations. Urgh. Anyway, he sounds like a cool dude, although some view home more as a crazed murderer of Mexicans and Americans alike. White settlers referred to him as "the worst Indian who ever lived". Hey, history is complicated.

It's amazing that there's this chronology on Wikipedia that so easily condenses his life. If we had people tasked with chronicalling our lives in a book like they did on Game of Thrones, I wonder if that would change or influence how we lived our lives? In a way, social media is a self-curated version of a chronicle of our lives.

Geronimo later became a celebrity of legendary status, even taking part in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He dressed in traditional clothing, posed for photographs and sold crafts, including buttons from his shirts and hats. Visitors came to see how the "savage" had been "tamed". Oof! But I guess if your culture is to be turned into a side-show, at least make some money out of it.

Although I can't remember where I first heard someone shout "Geronimo!", I am quite certain it was in a cartoon. Imdb has a list of the most popular movies and TV shows to have a character shout "Geronimo!", with number 1 being Toy Story 2. The Doctor Who episode where the 11th doctor (played by Matt Smith) says it, titled "The Lodger", is also listed.

Tracing the source of the name "Geronimo" has been quite the unexpected journey (take that Bilbo Baggins!). But then again, that's the point of this Tumblr page, that a simple thought, idea or Google search can send you down a rabbit hole of knowledge and curiosity that you didn't know was possible. Typing "the first use of geronimo" into the search bar took me first to pre-civil war America to meet a man who earned the nickname while leading Apache raids. Some historians believe that Geronimo was called this because the term has its origins in the cries of frightened Mexican soldiers calling out the name of the Catholic St. Jerome when they faced Geronimo in battle.

Then it took me to the United States during World War II, where "Geronimo" was used as a United States Army airborne exclamation occasionally used by jumping paratroopers (or anyone about to jump from a great height) as a general exclamation of exhilation. While the origins of it being used in this manner is traced to Fort Benning, Georgia, where some of the first of the US Army's parachute jumps occurred in the 1940's, it is disputed how this happened.

One theory comes from paratrooper Gerard Devlin, who dates the exclamation to be from August 1940 and attributes it to Private Aubrey Eberhardt, a member of the parachute test platoon at Fort Benning. On the eve of the platoon's first jump, they decided to calm their nerves by spending the day watching a film at the Main Post Theatre and a night at the local beer garden. The film they saw was a Western featuring our guy Geronimo. While the title is uncertain, it is believed to probably be the 1939 film Geronimo with Andy Devine and Chief Thundercloud (cool name!). On the way to the barracks, Eberhardt's comrades taunted him saying that he would be too scared to even remember his name tomorrow when they perform their first jump. Eberhardt retorted, "All right, dammit! I tell you jokers what I'm gonna do! To prove to you that I'm not scared out of my wits when I jump, I'm gonna yell 'Geronimo!' loud as hell when I go out that door tomorrow!" Eberhardt kept his promise and the cry was gradually adopted by the other members of his platoon.

The second theory comes from Major Richard Winters, who in his book "Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Richard Winters", explains that at the time when the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning was due to jump, there was a popular song called "Geronimo" on the radio which quickly became a favourite amongst the troops.

The third theory comes to us from the Medicine Bluffs at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where Geronimo was jailed as a prisoner of war and his grave is located today. The Medicine Bluffs are steep cliffs that have come to be known as Geronimo's Bluff. Tall tales were told about Geronimo while at Fort Sill, including the now famous legend of Geronimo leaping on horseback down an almost vertical cliff with the Army in hot pursuit. It is said that in the midst of this jump to freedom, he cried out "Geronimo-o-o!".

Although we are not sure which story is the correct one (the first one is my favourite, while I think it is fair to say that the third one is most likely fiction), the cry grew in popularity amongst the Army's paratrooper regiment, despite worries from those in charge that the cry lacks discipline. Excitedly, the Army's 501st and 509st Parachute Infantry Regiments incorporated the name "Geronimo" into its insignias in the early 1940's, with permission from Geronimo's descendants. By then, the coverage of the paratroopers' exploits during World War II had made the cry "Geronimo" known to the wider public and its use spread outside the military and the US Army.

So as I take a leap into writing and consequently sharing my thoughts online, I shout "Geronimo!" in fear, but mostly excitement.

#history #writing #rabbit hole #doctor who #the eleventh doctor #world war two

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carrickbender · 7 years ago

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This is a brain dump.....

So I'm having one of those days. I had to call into work today because I can barely walk. I'm about to actually go and get cleaned up and head for the local Clinic to see if there's anything they can do for my knee, and possibly refer me to an orthopedic surgeon. I'm pretty positive that I have damage from the fall that I took fishing that was not diagnosed, and therefore no attempt was made to fix it. And I'm really tired of being in pain, I'm tired of feeling useless because of this, and I'm also very angry about missing what possibly could be the best salmon season on record because of this. I started back doing low-carb about a week and a half ago, and I am most definitely seeing results. However, just like everybody else, I am seriously struggling with what I see in the mirror and today is quite possibly one of the worst days I've had in a long time. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm pretty fresh out of a "relationship" that should have been absolutely perfect but wasn't, and now I'm having to deal with it. Because of the number of years that I have yo yo'd in size, it's very difficult for me not to equate weight with self-worth. And even though I know in my heart that I am more than what number I see coming back at me on the scale, it's very difficult for me not to look around and say, " yeah, look at you. You go up and down, but no matter what you're not going to be good enough". And being in front of the crowd as a lead singer in a band, I walk out on stage with more confidence than most. But it's an absolute ruse, because the second that I step off of the stage I look at myself with my own skewed reality, and view of myself once again. It sucks, and I am working hard to change the physical appearance so that I might be able to fake it until I make it, but today is one of these days where I'm having a hard time even Faking It. And I've also come to the conclusion that I'm pretty much going to be alone. I'm really fortunate in my life that I have some great friends, and y'all are incredibly awesome too, but I think I'm always just going to be that friend: The guy who comes to the party who is funny, who brings the guitar and sings because he loves doing it, who does his best to make sure than everybody else is having a great time, but never gets to find his own happiness in another person. And it sounds stupid, even to me, but at the age of 40- almost 41, I don't have a damn thing to show for my life. Really, I don't. I don't have any children, I've been very selfish in living what can only be described as the subject of a folk song being a nomadic fisherman, and I don't have all of the things that it seems that I look around and everybody else has. Not that I need the things to make me feel whole, because I don't need stuff, but I guess I'm really wondering where the hell did my life go and what Legacy am I going to leave. I look at all of you and see you're absolutely beautiful kids, and they're doing amazing things, or you're having these great relationships with other people and all I see in myself is a serious failure. There comes a certain point where you say I've worked so fucking hard for What Little I have, why is it that it seems so easy for others to get what I really want and never have been able to achieve? It's not for lack of trying, but it always seems that even when I have gotten out of my own way, everything fails. So please disregard this is just a brain dump of someone who's tired, emotionally drained, and highly in need of seahab. I shouldn't feel this way, I know, but I don't know what to do about this anymore. And tomorrow I'll probably feel better, but these are some of the things that are really driving me crazy today. Thanks for reading, and I really do appreciate and love all of you for listening. I honestly don't have anybody else I can tell.

#me #this is my life #how to be single #i'm really bad at it #singer songwriter #unloveable #I'm just trying to find a decent melody a song that I can sing in my own company #passing emotions #thanks for reading #i'll be fine #Really

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samsdisneydiary · 7 years ago

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Welcome to the Valley of Mo’ara – Notice PCI and ACE – you will find them through the valley

A new adventure awaits at Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom. Encounter winged creatures that you can fly and rivers that glow. Can you find these things in Africa or Asia? No. Where in the world? Well, they’re not in this world.

As you make your way through the oasis working left past the Tree of Life and the Island Mercantile, you start to notice something different…a small, yet inviting, path on the left. The path appears to lead to Tiffin’s, a signature sit down dining on the edge of Discovery Island, and the incredible Nomad Lounge, a topic for another blog.

Just past them is a bridge, a bridge that leads to a strange and different, yet familiar place. As you cross the bridge, you travel in both time and space… Welcome to the Valley of Mo’ara where your exploration of Pandora begins.

The all-new land within Animal Kingdom provides a unique experience, completely disconnected from Animal Kingdom itself. You have entered Pandora, where everything is familiar but different; it’s a surreal experience. Rather than making a straight line to the latest attractions, the Valley invites you to explore.

The sign that greets you resembles a national park’s welcome. It’s then that you realize that the Valley is part of the Pandora Conservation Initiative (PCI) and presented in partnership with Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE). PCI is the collection of scientists, conservationists and Xeno-biologists researching the Pandora ecosystem – you’ll find references to ACE as the tour company leading expeditions to Pandora. ACE is responsible for the safe passage from Earth to Pandora (Quite a trip across that bridge!)

Even in the daylight, the trees and vegetation are from another world – almost glowing

References to ACE and PCI can be found through the Valley – all tying together the theme. As far as theme, it is everywhere – you are completely disconnected from Animal Kingdom. This is a new, different world that awaits discovery; from the strange “glowing” plants and strange animals, the Valley itself deserves time to be explored.

I’ll have to admit, that I have never seen the movie and purposely chose not to watch before visiting the land. Needless to say, my expectations were low – what could they possibly do to keep me interested in a property that I don’t understand? I was delighted to be curious as to everything I was seeing; what is that creature? What is that plant? Is that a cloud or a mountain or an island? Experiencing the land has me wanting to see the movie, and the 4 new Avatar movies that are in the works.

Walking through the land, I expect that it represented a recreation of the movie, like Cars Land in California Adventure. As I later learned, that’s not the case. Tim Warzecha, Disney Imagineer, said it best “Pandora serves as neither a prequel nor sequel to the 2009 movie, but rather is a more standalone experience.” “Regardless of where you’re at in Pandora, it’s always a generation or two past whatever film James Cameron is working on or has just released.” (Four more sequels are expected in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025)

The plants appear to glow, even in the daytime

You’ll find some interesting items to explore and details all around. The new land features 2 attractions, 2 food & beverage locations and 2 merchandise locations – the Noah’s Ark or Disney themed lands.

In the first attraction, journey deep into a bioluminescent rainforest in search of the Na’vi Shaman of Songs. The Na’vi River Journey is a trip down the sacred Kaspavan River aboard a reed boat, crafted by the Na’vi. The experience takes you deep into the Na’vi culture, with a song around every bend. You’re surrounded by strange animals and glowing plants. Behind the scenes, the Shaman of Songs is one of the most realistic audio animatronics to date, and an amazing look at what is possible. And, as I’m told – The Shaman of Songs was not in the movie. Could he be in a sequel? Does it matter?

More views from the Standby Queue to Flight of Passage

The second attraction is the centerpiece of the Valley, Avatar Flight of Passage. The queue, the longest at Walt Disney World and arguably best themed, could be considered an attraction in itself. And it’s been reported that the stand by queue can accommodate a 5 hour wait; let’s hope that doesn’t happen anytime soon. Most of the pictures of the queue in my photo report, and that you have seen, come from the standby queue; the Fast Pass queue by passes most of the theming. In the standby queue, you make your way up, around and into the mountain and get unique views of the waterfalls throughout the Valley of Mo-ara. You make your way through accent caves covered with primitive drawings of banshees and other wildlife along with Nav’i handprints.

After the cave, we cut through a former military bunker that’s abandoned, rusty and dusty and into the nighttime forest; then it’s into another bunker full of experiments and tests being conducted by PCI biologists.

All of this is preparing you for an experience like no other…a ride on the back of a mountain banshee. During the multiple pre-show rooms, you’ll learn that the banshee is one of the most important and culturally significant animals to the Na’vi, and the first flight is a rite-of-passage. You’ll go “soarin” over the unfamiliar and vast moon in the 3-D simulator.

Even more interesting plant and animal life along the queue for The Na’vi River Journey

Interesting side note, both Nav’vi River Journey and Flight of Passage are in the same show building, the river being the bottom level while Flight of Passage takes up the rest (at least 3 floors).

The Flight of Passage exits into one of the two merchandise locations, Windtraders. Here you can become a Na’vi and purchase your model (think D-Tech Me experience from Star Wars Weekends) or purchase your own Banshee to take home, the most popular souvenir from the new land.

Colors of Mo’ara, the second merchandise location, features Na’vi inspired face painting along with other themed items.

The land also includes a quick service, Pongu Pongu – featuring glowing Pandoran beverages including a Mo’ara Margarita and Night Blossom. The second food location is the Satu’li Canteen counter service. Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Satu’il offers wood-fired beef and chicken along with chili-spiced tofu, fish and steamed pods – a Na’vi favorite.

Overall Pandora, the World of Avatar, is a welcome update to Animal Kingdom and a great place to just explore – the Wilderness Explorer has even been extended to Pandora. You are indeed lost in Animal Kingdom completely disconnected and in a whole new world.

All I can think to myself is… I can’t wait to travel to the outer rim in the fully immersive Star Wars Experience in 2019!!!

Check out SamsDisneyDiary the Podcast for more details

http://traffic.libsyn.com/samsdisneydiary/SDD_090_2017_05_31.mp3

Welcome to Pandora The World of Avatar – Annual Pass Holder Preview – May 2017

Welcome to the Valley of Mo’ara – Notice PCI and ACE – you will find them through the valley

It’s a whole new world

The floating mountain is the center of attention in the valley

Even in the daylight, the trees and vegetation are from another world – almost glowing

A few of the valley from the Queue of “Flight of Passage”

Color of mo’ara, merchandise location, features Na’vi inspired Face Painting

Water flows of the floating mountain into the valley.

Na’vi art work can be found through the valley

The valley is full of interesting plants and animals… or plantamils, I’m not sure.

Beautiful view of the valley – you are completely disconnect from Animal Kingdom

The plants appear to glow, even in the daytime

A few from under the floating mountain…

The Floating Mountain from the Queue to Flight of Passage

Water Flows into the Valley form the Queue to Flight of Passage.

Floating Mountain appear to be rooted into the valley

More views from the Standby Queue to Flight of Passage

The inside of the standby queue for Flight of passage starts with ancient Na’vi drawings and hand prints

Continuing further into the queue you approach the PCI lab – focused on learning all they can about the Mountain Banshee Ecosystem

More experiments inside the standby queue

an Avatar is prepared in the standby Queue – at least I think that’s what’s going on…

A map of Banshee in the queue – updated with live info.

A Banshee as seen in the Queue

The first pre-show room for Flight of Passage – there are multiple versions of the pre-show

Matching us to an Avatar in the pre-show

Flight Glasses – or 3D glasses 😉

The ride Vehicle for Flight of Passage – much like a bicycle.

Another view of the floating mountain.

The exit of Flight of Passage leads to the Windtraders merchandise location. You name it, they have it… with a Pandora or Avator logo of course.

More merchandise inside Windtraders

The rock work is outstanding – not that long ago this was nothing but steel beams.

Another view of the Na’vi art work.

Lets check out the Queue for The Na’vi River Journey

Even more interesting plant and animal life along the queue for The Na’vi River Journey

While the Queue for The Na’vi river journey is themed well… I sure don’t want to be waiting in that switch back maze… looks more like the Big Thunder Queue of yesteryear, not something in a brand new land

The Bioluminescent rainforest grows even more interesting as we journey deeper into the Na’vi River.

The Sharman of Songs greats us at the end of the River Journey.

More Bioluminescence

Back outside the water continues to fall from the Floating Mountain.

the Queue for River Journey

Details are everywhere in the Valley

You can become an Avatar, similar to the D-Tech me experience from Star Wars Weekends and available in Windtraders

More Merchandise inside Windtraders

Take home your very own Banshee from Windtraders

More Merchandise inside Windtraders

Take home your very own Banshee from Windtraders

Pongu Pongu, quick service, features Frozen Pandoran beverages and Pongu Lumpia.

The Satu’ll Canteen provide a counter service option inside the World of Avatar

The “Create-Your-Own-Satu’li Bowl” and Steamed “Pods” are great options on the menu.

A quick look at the The Satu’li Canteen menu

I Created my own Bowl…

Why stop at one….

The décor inside the Satu’ll Canteen

Satu’ll Canteen Counter Service

Satu’ll Canteen is the pilot for “Mobile Order Pick up”

A quick look at the The Satu’li Canteen menu

Not many Stroller for the Pass Holder Preview… This is where they will go – next to the Satu’ll Canteen

Satu’ll Canteen

Pongu Pongu – Fully themed – as expected in this new world

A look from under the floating mountain.

The Wilderness Explores have an outpost in the Valley… not sure how that’s going to work for a badge…

Great Views all around The World of Avatar

More unique views of the Valley of Mo’ara

The Valley of Mo’ara offers unique views along with glowing plant and animal life

The Shaman of Songs awaits at the end of the Na’vi River Journey

#90: Pandora – The World of Avatar A new adventure awaits at Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom. Encounter winged creatures that you can fly and rivers that glow.

#Animal Kingdom #Avatar #Pandora

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nigelolsson · 6 years ago

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As an Intuitive Drummer, Elton John’s Nigel Olsson Can’t Be Beat

https://lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2012/oct/17/intuitive-drummer-elton-johns-nigel-olsson-cant-be/

By John Katsilometes, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012 | 6 p.m.

Nigel Olsson has always wanted to be a showman, but onstage he’s not always so showy.

At times, he might even be overlooked.

It’s not easy to lose track of the drummer in a rock band, of course, except when the man at center stage is Elton John, and his instrument -- and show -- is known as “The Million Dollar Piano.”

But Olsson, the self-described quiet one who took up drums early in his career primarily because it was a safe place to hide when fans in English pubs threw bottles at the stage, has a move that’s all his own. He pivots his body from his right to left and crashes the manhole cover-sized cymbal high atop an oversized drum set fashioned after a World War II Royal Air Force Spitfire fighter plane.

Olsson slams that cymbal with a flourish, part orchestra conductor, part lumberjack. It’s a move made by any drummer, but none strike the cymbal with quite the flair of the man who has played drums for Elton John since 1970.

This isn’t to suggest the 63-year-old Olsson has choreographed this act or is one to throw thunderbolts from behind his drum kit.

“You know, I don’t play hard. People think I play hard because of the way my drums are tuned, which is very low,” says Olsson, whose silver suit on this day matches his hair and drum set. “But I’m proud of the emotion I put into the sound. I hardly ever break sticks. They wear out, but they rarely break.

“The way I play, I want to give the emotion that comes from these incredible songs to whoever is listening. Maybe the best way to say it is I am a very descriptive drummer. I play to the piano, and to the lyrics.”

John’s “Million Dollar Piano” is in the midst of its most recent run at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace. The remaining performances in this spree are tonight through Sunday and Oct. 26-28. (In September 2011, John signed a three-year contract to perform a total of 90 shows, but Olsson said he hopes two more years might be added to that agreement; he would buy a condo in Las Vegas if that happens.)

John’s band is mostly comprised of musicians with whom he has performed for decades, but none dates back as far as Olsson.

The two met in 1969, and the first credited performance by Olsson on any John collaboration was the song “Mr. Boyd” by the soon-forgotten band Argosy. The group featured Roger Hodgson (who later founded Supertramp) on vocals and Reginald Dwight -- later to be known as Elton John -- on keyboards.

Asked about that initial project, Olsson laughs and says, “Wow, that sounds right, probably. I’ll have to check my royalty checks.” Olsson also was a member of a short-lived band called Plastic Penny, which was managed by Dick James Music, which also was the publisher of songs written by John and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin.

“With me being around the office, I got to know all the guys, and Bernie and Elton were there writing songs for other people,” Olsson says. “I got to know them that way.”

In a nomadic path familiar to many rock drummers, Olsson shifted to the better-known Spencer Davis Group. When that band fractured, John recommended Olsson to play with Uriah Heep, a partnership that lasted “nine dates, and, I think, one record,” as Olsson recalls.

But John had more far-reaching plans, as he had just recorded his eponymous first album (using Terry Cox on drums) and was being sent to the United States on a brief but career-changing promotional tour.

John asked Olsson and bassist Dee Murray to join him for a trip to the Troubadour rock clubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco for weeklong engagements in each venue. This was in the summer of 1970, as the trio were to debut in the U.S. in late August.

The three filed into James’ office to rehearse. Among the songs sampled were “Your Song,” “Bad Side of the Moon” and “Take Me to the Pilot.”

“Within the first eight bars, I knew this was the kind of music I wanted to play,” Olsson says. “It took me totally to a different place. It was inspirational, refreshing. I thought, ‘I haven’t heard this type of music since the Beatles broke through.’ ”

Taken as a whole, the club dates were a make-or-break proposition. If they were well-received, Elton and his little band might well be on their way to international success.

If not …

“(James) said he knew a shoe store down the street (from the Troubadour in L.A.), and you can get a job making shoes,” Olsson says, laughing. “True story. So I didn’t get the job at the shoe store.”

Aside from a 10-year hiatus to pursue his chief nonmusical passion, racecars, Olsson has since been John’s primary drummer. He has been at the epicenter of some of the greatest music and performances in the history of rock music, yet is nonchalant about his rise to fame. From that opening night at the Troubadour (which is memorialized in a color-splashed montage during John’s show at the Colosseum), when Neil Diamond, Quincy Jones, Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Russell and Mike Love of the Beach Boys were in the audience, Olsson has remained hard focused on the music.

“We didn’t have time to figure out what was going on. We were working nonstop,” he says. “We’d go in and record an album, then go and tour. We always were touring some songs that were still in the can, basically, and we didn’t have time to sit back and think, ‘Wow! We’re getting big time here!’ ”

When asked of his music inspirations, Olsson first mentions the Beatles. Many of his references to his playing style, or even his personal disposition -- unassuming, like Ringo -- are geared toward the Fab Four.

“I would say that I’m not a technical drummer at all. I can’t read music. The way I love to play is just putting the headphones on and listening to the Beatles,” Olsson says. “I idolized Ringo. I modeled my playing after him. I loved his work on songs like ‘I Am the Walrus,’ and from him I learned that what you leave out makes it work.”

Olsson favors ballads, quickly listing “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Circle of Life” and “Empty Garden,” the tribute to John Lennon just added to the Colosseum set, as his favorites.

“When you play the ballads, you can feel the warmth from the crowd,” he says. “We play the same songs every night, the exact same show, but the feeling from the crowd is always special, you can really feel that each night.”

Asked to name another drummer he counts as an influence, Olsson’s answer raises an eyebrow: Stevie Wonder.

“Believe it or not, yeah, the way he plays drums is amazing,” Olsson says, grinning. “I worked with him on the ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ album because I was doing a solo record in the same studio complex (the Record Plant in Hollywood). He heard my drums that Slingerland (Drum Company) had especially built for me and said, ‘Can I borrow your drums?’ So I called the company and asked if it would be possible to make a drum kit exactly the same as mine for Stevie Wonder. They said, ‘Stevie Wonder? What?’ but stopped the production line and had them sent within a week.”

Olsson stops at that story and says, “Funny, isn’t it? Who you meet?”

But Olsson is not terribly fond of telling Elton stories. Years ago, he grew tired of the questions about the iconic, and occasionally temperamental, superstar. “Everyone wanted to know, ‘How many pairs of glasses does he have?’ Or, ‘How high are his shoes?’ because he used to wear these knee-high boots. It was just so boring.”

But he does speak to John’s brilliance. “There’s no two ways about it. I mean, he’s a genius. He’s so kind to people, even though he’ll throw what we call ‘wobblers’ now and then.”

John threw a "wobbler" during a show at the Colosseum in May, tossing a stool and water bottles across the stage and complaining generally about his management team.

“He’ll get mad if the flowers are dead in the dressing room -- or wilting. There is a certain type of flower he hates, I can’t remember which,” Olsson says. “But he’s such a decent person. Since Zachary came along, the baby, it’s made his life a lot calmer.”

The son of John and his husband, David Furnish, Zachary turns 2 on Christmas. He was born to a surrogate mother and also is remarkable because his godmother is Lady Gaga.

“Elton sent me a video of Zachary in France when they were on holiday, in August,” Olsson says. “He’s eating lunch, and you can hear David in the background, ‘What’s that you’re eating, Zachary?’ And he says, ‘Petit pois! Peas!’ So he’s now bilingual! One of the cutest kids I’ve ever seen.”

Olsson likens John’s band to a family. Longtime members back John onstage at the Colosseum. The graybeards include guitarist Davey Johnston, keyboardist Kim Bullard and percussionist Ray Cooper (whom is a flurry of activity onstage behind Olsson). Percussionist John Mahon and bassist Matt Bissonette fill out the band. Bissonette is stepping in for the late Bob Birch, who died at age 56 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in August.

Birch had for years been suffering from pain in his legs and back from being hit by a truck in Montreal in 1995, an accident that nearly killed him. In the shows leading up to his death, Birch was in such pain, he played while seated on a stool.

Olsson says that when it came time to reunite the remaining band members, John pulled the musicians and crew together and said, “We all loved Bob, and we will only think happy, good thoughts about him. There will be no crying, no miserable faces, and we will always have him in our hearts.”

“Of course, by the end of it, everybody was crying,” Olsson says.

He is similarly moved when recalling the “electric” night of Thanksgiving 1974, when Lennon joined Elton and the band for three songs at Madison Square Garden. This was to pay off a bet Lennon had made with John that he would join John for that show if “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” reached No. 1. It did, and Olsson counts the moment as one of the highlights of his career.

“You would not have believed the energy of that night,” he says.

During the show at Caesars, as grainy footage of Lennon charging onstage with John plays on the Colosseum LED screen, Olsson starts the song by stepping into his bass drums with two quick beats.

“Thump-thump” is the sound, and the descriptive drummer is keeping perfect time with every heartbeat in the room.

#lovely article about nigel #aww nigel #having a place to hide when bottles were thrown at the stage #sweetheart #why would you throw bottles at such a sweet person?#how rude #the last line of the article is a beautiful one #thump thump is the sound and the descriptive drummer is keeping perfect time with every heartbeat in the room #beautiful #poetic #that is a good way to describe nigel generally #he's got such a big heart #of course he keeps time with every heartbeat in the room #i never ever overlook nigel #not a chance

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